Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
by Keep 'On Rocking
Summary: The summer before the Trio's 1st year, the Harry Potter books appear on Dumbledore's office. So our favourite characters get together to read it, with some time-travel and the unsual presence of Hermione's parents, this may be an interesting experience.
1. The Letters

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Ok, I know it is already getting cliché, because everyone's doing it. But while reading of these stories I thought why not do it with the Weasleys? And how about adding Mr. and Mrs. Granger? Wouldn't it be fun to see the trio reactions to their own actions?**

**So I decided to do it. There will also have Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Luna, Xenophilius Lovegood, Neville, Hagrid and Neville's grandmother Augusta. **

**And this story sets in the summer before the trio's 1****st**** year.**

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Chapter 1:

The Letters

Albus Dumbledore was excited. The time has finally arrived. Harry Potter would attend Hogwarts. And to make it better, a big surprise was about to happen.

"I think we should send someone to get him" Minerva McGonagall told him "Those muggles are so horrible with the poor boy, Albus. I still can't believe you sent him there"

"They're his only family left, Minerva." Albus said calmly. They've already had this conversation million times.

"But what did you call us here for, sir?" Severus Snape asked. Unlike most teachers, he wasn't looking forward to teaching Harry Potter _'Great! Another James Potter' _He thought

"Something happened last night" Albus started "And I'm afraid we'll have a mission to do"

"What do you mean?" Minerva asked

"Can you see those books?" Albus asked pointing to the 7 books on his table.

"Harry Potter…" She whispered "What is this suppose to mean, Albus?"

"Those books are from the future. It arrived last night" He started to explain "Along with this letter and those 7 photo albums"

"The future?" Severus repeated incredulous "It's… too difficult…"

"But it's possible to send something to the past. Difficult, really difficult but not possible" Minerva stated "What does the letter says?"

"I'll read it for you" Albus smiled

_Professor Dumbledore,_

_I know you may find this rather strange, but these 7 books tell the story which will answer all of your questions. It tells the story of what are suppose to be Harry Potter's 7 years of school. It will tell you about Voldemort's fall. You may probably have an idea of what I'm talking about._

_We sent you these books for you to know what to expect._

_But it is not only for you to read this. There are some spells on those books so that you can't skip you'll have to read it on it's right order. And another one making it only possible to read with all the people requested present. _

_It will be difficult to get some of those people. But please do get them._

_Those people are:_

_- You, Albus Dumbledore._

_- Professor Minerva McGonagall_

_- Professor Severus Snape_

_- Arthur Weasley_

_- Molly Weasley_

_- William Weasley_

_- Charlie Weasley_

_- Percy Weasley_

_- Fred Weasley_

_- George Weasley_

_- Ronald Weasley_

_- Ginevra Weasley _

_- Jane Granger_

_- David Granger_

_- Hermione Granger_

_- Rubeus Hagrid_

_- Nymphadora Tonks_

_- Augusta Longbottom_

_- Neville Longbottom_

_-Alastor Moody_

_- Harry Potter_

_You may be wondering why so many people, but all of them played an important role, will play if you prefer, or simply deserve being there and know what actually happened._

_About the albums photos, they're the proof these books tell the truth. Each of them is related to one book. You will only be able to open them after finishing the respective book. It has photos of the most important events of the books which were able to get on camera. There is another letter inside this one, which you will only read when everyone is reunited._

_Hope you enjoy your reading._

_Ass. The Golden Trio_

"Where are we going to read this?" Severus asked. He wasn't very found of the boy, but he wanted to know what would happen. "I mean, Miss Granger is muggle born, so her parents are muggles, they're not able to see Hogwarts"

"There's that too…" Albus said "We'll figure something out. Are you going to help me get those people together?"

"Of course" Minerva assured him

"I'm curious" Severus shuddered "I want to read it"

"Thank you, Severus" Albus smiled. Things were going to be interesting.

….

Minerva, Albus and Severus didn't waste time, they sent letter to each of the people invited. All of them were confused, of course, but since Professor Dumbledore said it was important, it meant that they should go. And with some help from Albus, all of them were able to get 2 weeks off from work and go to a muggle house he rented especially for the reading. It had 18 bedrooms, enough room for all of them to sleep. It also had an enormous living-room that could fit all of them easily. He also had a talk with the Ministry of Magic, so magic could be used there. A week passed and everyone was reunited in the noisy living-room, asking why they were there.

Albus could see Harry Potter sitting beside Hagrid in a couch looking scared and nervous. He could also see Hermione Granger sitting between her parents, bitting her button lip. Her parents were looking nervous and scared. Albus couldn't blame them, he'd also be scared in their situation.

The Weasleys were all sitting in a corner. Molly and Arthur didn't look scared, they looked merely confused like most wizards and witched in the room. Their children looked excited. Tonks and Alastor Moody were chatting quietly, and Agusta Longbottom was telling her grandson something.

"May I have your attention, please?" He called, getting the room's attention. "You must be wondering why I called you all here. Well, That's because a week ago I received this letter from the future, and before you ask, yes it is immensely difficult, but it is possible. I will read it for you…" He said as he read the same letter he had read to Minerva and Severus the previous week. When he finished, the room fell in a stunned silence.

"There are b-books about me…" Harry whispered lowly, so no-one heard him, while Moody pondered

"What is 'The Golden Trio'?" He asked

"I believe it's the people who sent us these books. Probably three people since it's a trio" Albus said. Moody rolled his eyes on Albus stating the obvious.

"It mentioned another letter…" Tonks said

"Oh yes" Albus exclaimed "We shall read it now" He took a letter out of his robe's pocket and started reading

_Now that you're all here, we must inform you that there are still six people missing. Don't be shocked but those people are: James Potter, Lily Potter, Alice Longbottom, Frank Longbottom, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. They will all come from 1979. We'll ask you to tell them only what happened to them and about their kids. Tell Sirius about his situation, bit don't judge him, because he's innocent. The prove to this will also be in the books, the third one to the exact. We will also have to ask you not to judge anyone before the end of the books. Some things may happen that will certainly shock you._

_Ass. The Golden Trio_

_P.S.: Our visitors will arrive in 1, 2, 3, 4…_

As Albus finished reading the letter, a blue light filled the room and in the empty couchs between Harry and Neville six people appeared. They looked young in their early 20's.

"Ow" The unmistakeable voice of Sirius Black exclaimed "Prongs, you're crushing me" He said

"Sorry" James Potter straitened himself. He looked around the room confused as did his friends.

"Hello James, Lily, Sirius, Alice, Frank and Remus" Albus smiled "It has been a long time since I saw you" He said

"Professor, what is happening here?" Remus asked

"Yes, like one minute I was eating Lily's delicious strawberry cake and the other I was being crushed by James" Sirius said

"That's because you're in the future" Albus said "1991"

"Is that possible?" Alice asked

"Yes" Albus smiled at them and showed them the letter. After reading both letter, the six friends exchanged looks.

"What happened to us?" Frank asked

"We have kids?" Alice and Lily chorused.

"What am I innocent for?" Sirius asked

"Yes" Albus said. "They're here, but before I introduce you, I'm afraid I will have to tell you something, you won't like…" He told them as he proceeded in telling their futures. It took a while for them to calm down, they were sad that such monstrous happened to Lily, James, Frank and Alice. James and Remus were boiling in anger since they heard about Sirius's future. There's no way their friend would have done that. Sirius trying to be cheerful as always, asked Albus

"So when are we going to meet Prongs junior and Frank junior?"

"Oh, yes" Albus mentioned to Harry and Neville to step forward. They did so, dazed.

"James and Lily, this is your son Harry Potter" James and Lily smiled at the mini-James and hugged him. While Harry was shocked. He was actually seeing his parents, and hugging them… It was a dream, it had to be.

"Oh, Harry" Lily whispered, somehow knowing what he was thinking.

"Frank, Alice, this is Neville Longbottom, your son" He smiled as the couple hugged their son as well. Neville had tears in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Neville" Alice said

"Don't be… you're here. You… know me…" Neville said, as Neville hugged his parents, his grandmother, who's usually though and composed, broke down and ran to her son's arms

"Frank! Oh Frank" She hugged him. Frank looked at his mother, she was older than he remembered, but still somehow she hasn't changed one bit.

"I love you, mum" He told her.

It took half an hour for them to settle down. Harry and Neville were sitting happily with his parents. Harry was also quite found of Remus and Sirius, who were amazed of how much Harry looked like James on that age.

"I think that we should now introduce ourselves" Minerva said as they all sat down to read. "I am Minerva McGonagall, I teach Tranfugation in Hogwarts."

"I am Professor Albus Dumbledore. I am Hogwarts headmaster"

"Severus Snape, I am the Potions Master at Hogwarts" Severus had stared at Lily the whole time, she was as beautiful as he remembered. Lily tried not to look at her formal best friend. She knew that he probably changed in those 10 years but she was still upset with him. Mean while Sirius and James were wondering why the hell Dumbledore made the greasy git Pontion Master.

"I'm Arthur Weasley, and this is my wife Molly and our kids Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny" Arthur said. James smiled, he had always liked the Weasleys.

"Humm… I'm Tonks" Sirius looked at the girl and gasped "Dora. Dear God. Look how much you've grown up." He exclaimed as he hugged Adromenda's daughter. Tonks laughed

"I missed you too Siri" She laughed. Remus and James also smiled. Dora and Adomendra are the only people Sirius like in family. As the two cousins broke apart Mad-eye Moody did his itroduction

"I'm Alastor Moody"

"I'm James Potter, this is my wife Lily and our son Harry" James smiled at his family. Harry looked happier than ever

"I'm David Granger and this is my wife Jane, we're… humm… muggles. But our daughter Hermione is a witch." He pointed to a blushing Hermione

"I'm Agusta Longbottom, this is my grandson Neville, my son Frank and his wife Alice"

"Humm… and I am… Rubeus Hagrid. Hogwarts's keeper of the keys"

"Now, how about we start reading?" Albus took the first book, he opened and a letter fell from it.

_This is the first book. It tells Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts. Hope you enjoy it._

_Ass. The Golden Trio_

"Well, The name of the book is Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" Albus smiled "Do you mind if I read first?" He asked. When a chorus of 'no' reached him, he opened and said

"The first chapter is called 'The Boy Who Lived'"

**I know there has been a lot of stories like that but I want to do it a bit different, the biggest change being Mr. And Mrs. Granger. J.K. hardly mentions them, but I've always wondered what they would think about their daughter adventures. So I just had to add them. I hope you'll enjoy this. I'll try to update as soon as I can. **

**Please Keep reading and review**

**Keep 'On Rocking **


	2. The Boy Who Lived

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

**Hi, guys! Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you liked my idea. I see that you must be wondering where Luna and hr father are, since I said they'd be here too. Well, they'll appear in a few chapters. You'll see why. Oh. And just so you know, this story is set right after Harry's trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Instead of going back to Private Drive, he went to the house with Hagrid! So the next 4 chapter will have already happened. **

**Well, now we should go on with the chapter. Here we go. Hope you'll enjoy it! **

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Chapter 2:

The Boy Who Lived

"**The Boy Who Lived" **Albus read

"Is that what they're calling you now?" James asked

"Humm… I don't know" Harry said confused

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. **

**They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense. **

"Of course" Harry said sarcastically .

**Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills. He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbours. **

"That's so like my sister" Lily said "But what does she have to do with Voldemort?"

**The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere. The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters. **

"Lily, I hate your sister" James said

"I never thought I'd agree with you" Severus murmured so quietly that no one heard him.

**Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish**

"HEY! I'M NOT A GOOD-FOR-NOTHING! AND UNDURSLEYISH ISN'T EVEN A WORD" James yelled

"Mr. Potter can you please not yell?" Minerva asked thought she was smiling. She had missed him.

"Sorry Minnie"

"And don't call me that"

**as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.**

"Dudley?" Sirius asked

"What kind of name is that?" Charlie laughed

"The name of a prat possibly" Tonks said

**When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work, and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair. None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window. At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.**

"Oh My God" Jane rolled her eyes

"**Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. **

"And he doesn't even does anything…" David exclaimed

**He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map. **

With that the Marauders smirked. An animagus. McGonagall possibly.

**For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen — then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive — no, **_**looking **_**at the sign; cats couldn't read maps **_**or **_**signs.**

"That's what you think"

**Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. **

**But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks. **

"What's wrong with cloaks?" Augusta asked

"Muggles don't wear them" Arthur said proudly to know it.

**Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes — the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly . Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him! But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt —these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it. **

**The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. **_**He **_**didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more. **

"That man needs a life" Sirius said.

"Sure needs" Fred and George said

**He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"**The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —" **

"**yes, their son, Harry —"**

"Is it what I'm thinking?" Lily asked

"Yes" Albus said sadly

**Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone,**

"Oh I love those fellyphone" Arthur smiled

"You mean telephones?" David asked not rudely just interested

"Oh yes"

"They're pretty cool"

**and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his moustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name. He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew **_**was **_**called Harry. **

"That's much better" Jane said sarcastically "Not even know your own nephew's name."

**He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her — if **_**he'd **_**had a sister like that…**

"There's nothing wrong with Lily" Severus muttered so low that nobody heard. Meanwhile James put his arms around Lily, he knew it was hard for her to see how her sister ended up hating her. She tried to bee strong but he knew it hurt her.

**but all the same, those people in cloaks… He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. **

"**Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. **

"He knows how to apologize… I'm surprised" David shook his head.

**It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!" **

Nobody said a thing about this, knowing what happened to Lily and James. Even David and Jane, they did not know a lot about that Voldemort, but from what they've heard from the story Dumbledore told the time-travellers they knew he was bad news.

**And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination. **

"What does he approve of?" George asked

"Being a pig like his son" Harrysaid. The Marauders, Ron, Neville, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie laughed.

**As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw—and it didn't improve his mood — was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes. **

"**Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.**

"Not Gonna Work" All of Minerva's students sang in usual and started laughing while Minerva blushed but smiled.

**The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look. **

With that, they started laughing again.

**Was this normal cat behaviour? **

"Nope. Just McGonagall's" Sirius said

"Huh? How can that be possible?" Jane asked confused

"Some wizards and witches can transfigure themselves in a form of an animal." Hermioneexplained. Minerva raised an eyebrow on how a first year that didn't even start Hogwarts knew that.

"Oh"

**Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").**

"Typical" Harry muttured.

**Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: **

"_**And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. **_

"_**Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." **_**Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. **

**Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…**

"We had a lot of problems with that" Arthur sighed remembering that he had to work extra time for two weeks to fix that carelessness.

**Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. **

"**Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.**

Lily crossed her arms at that. She was hurt. Her sister and she had had some problems but she expected them to get over it.

"**No," she said sharply. "Why?" Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…" **_**So?**_**" snapped Mrs. Dursley. Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… **_**her **_**crowd." **

"The idiot doesn't even know how to say 'Wizards' and 'Witches'" Augusta sighed

**Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son — he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?" **

"**I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. **

"**What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?" **

"**Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."**

"I like the name Harry" Molly frowned followed by the whole room.

"**Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. Was he imagining things? **

**Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of — well, he didn't think he could bear it. The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters **_**were **_**involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind… He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on — he yawned and turned over — it couldn't affect **_**them**_**… **

**How very wrong he was.**

"I wish he was right for once" Harry groaned quietly.

**Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.**

"How can you do that?" Jane asked.

"I'd die having to do that all day" David agreed "You're incredible"

Little did they know that with a simple question they gained the approval of the room, not because of the question itself, but because of their courage. They were in a room full of wizards and witches, being the only muggles and knowing exactly what they could do to them if they wanted. Yet they were joking, expressing their opinion feely. They accepted them.

"When you have to take care of million of children at once you gain some control" McGonagall smiled.

**A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. **

"It looks like you Professor" Remus told Albus

"It certain does" Dumbledore agreed.

**He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.**

"Yeaaaah" James and Sirius cheered. Albus smiled

**Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known." **

**He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. **

"Cool" Ron said "Wish I had one like that"

**He clicked it again — the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. **

"**Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall." **

"Yeahh" James and Sirius cheered again

"Are you going to do that every time it mentions a person you know?" Severus rolled his eyes

"We weren't" Sirius smirked

"But now we are" James grinned. Severus groaned. Just what he wanted, having to deal with Potter and Black again.

"Just people we like through" James said

**He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. **

"**How did you know it was me?" she asked.**

"It isn't that difficult to see that, Minnie" Sirius said

"Don't call me that Mr. Black" Minerva scolded, but she could wipe the smile off her face. She wouldn't admit it but the Marauders had always been her favourite students.

"**My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly." **

"**You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall. **

"**All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. **

"**Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no — even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." **

**She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. **

"**I heard it. Flocks of owls… shooting stars… Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent — I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."**

"He's a cool bloke" James said

"Helped us in a few of our pranks" Sirius added

"**You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years." **

"Wow" David said "It is a lot of years"

"**I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. **

"**Fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really **_**has **_**gone, Dumbledore?" **

"**It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"**

"What?" The pure-bloods asked

"**A **_**what**_**?" **

"**A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of." **

Severus shook his head, only Dumbledore would start talking about a muggle sweet in the middle of such a important conversation.

"**No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who **_**has **_**gone —" **

"**My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense — for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: **_**Voldemort**_**."**

**Professor McGonagall flinched, **

And so did the people in the room, except for Severus, David, Jane and Albus.

**but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." **

"**I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, **_**Voldemort**_**, was frightened of." **

"**You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have." **

"**Only because you're too — well —**_**noble **_**to use them." **

"**It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."**

"Ewww" Fred and George said. Albus blushed.

**Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the **_**rumors **_**that are flying around. You know what they're saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. **

"You have too much faith on me" Albus told Minerva amused.

**Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. **

"**What they're **_**saying**_**," she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are — are — that they're — **_**dead**_**." **

The room was trying not to cry that moment, although most were failing.

**Dumbledore bowed his head. **

**Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…"**

Lily and James smiled. They didn't know their old teacher cared so much about them.

**Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potter's son, Harry. **

"Did he really go after a baby?" Jane asked angrily

"I'm afraid so" responded Molly as mad as her.

**But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke — and that's why he's gone." **

**Dumbledore nodded glumly. It's — it's **_**true**_**?" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"**

"**We can only guess." said Dumbledore. "We may never know." **

**Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, **

"**Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?" **

"**Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me **_**why **_**you're here, of all places?" **

"**I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now." **

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T LEAVE HIM THERE. PETUNIA WILL TORTURE HIM" Lily yelled

"Dumbledore, you can't be serious" James said

"Yes" Sirius agreed "I am Sirius" James and Lily turned to glare at him.

"That's the only way. I'm sure the book will explain." Albus defended himself calmly "I didn't have another choice"

Lily and James stared at him, not fully convinced but before they had an opportunity to say anything else Albus started reading again.

"**You don't mean – you **_**can't **_**mean the people who live **_**here**_**?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore — you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son — I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!" **

"Yes!" James said "See, Minnie agrees with us"

"Please, Mr. Potter" Albus said "Calm down, I'm sure we'll hear the explanation…" He did not finish the sentence, as he started reading again

"**It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter." **

Lily was about to say something but James stopped her. She saw that he was just as upset as her.

"**A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter?These people will never understand him! He'll be famous — a legend — I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!"**

"Every child?" Harry grimaced at that, he wasn't really the attention seeker. He just hoped weren't as bad as the trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid when everyone stopped what they were doing to talk to him.

"**Exactly." said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?" **

Lily frowned. He had a point but Petunia was going to treat him so badly that he'd hardly live like a normal boy.

**Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes — yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.**

Albus laughed "Of course I wouldn't do that"

"**Hagrid's bringing him." **

"**You think it —**_**wise **_**— to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?" **

"**I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.**

"Thanks, Dumbledore" Hagrid blushed

"**I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to — what was that?" **

**A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky — and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them. **

"Cool" Sirius said "I've been dying for one of those"

**If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so **_**wild **_**— long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins. **

"Yeah! Hagrid" Sirius and James cheered mostly to annoy Severus.

**In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.**

"**Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?" **

"**Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."**

"Awesome" Sirius exclaimed "It's mine"

"Just what the world needed…" Lily sighed "Sirius Black in a flying motorcycle… he's bad enough at a broom…"

"**No problems, were there?" **

"**No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol." Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. **

Lily and James glanced at their son and saw the same scar on his forehead, they didn't like it one bit.

"**Is that where —?" whispered Professor McGonagall. **

"**Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever." **

"**Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?" **

"**Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground.**

"Cool" David and Ron said while Jane and Hermioneshook their heads

**Well — give him here, Hagrid — we'd better get this over with." Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.**

The room laughed. Hagrid blushed. This was so Hagrid.

"**Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "You'll wake the Muggles!" S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. **

"**But I c-c-can't stand it —Lily an' James dead — an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles —" **

"Hagrid, you're such a softy" Tonks laughed "But I know what you mean, that really is sad…"

"**Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. **

**He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. **

"You left my son ON AN DOORSTEP?!" Lily looked at Albus murderously "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU" Sirius, James and Remus had hold her back so that she wouldn't hex their old professor. It took five minutes to calm her down so that she would stop threatening Dumbledore. She only calmed down when Harry hugged her and told her that he'd be ok. Lily seemed reluctant, but she settled down, not letting go of Harry. After she calmed down, Albus started reading again, he wasn't offended, he understood why she was upset at him and respected it.

**For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. **

"**Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." **

"**Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall — Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. **

"**I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply. Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. **

"**Good luck, Harry," he murmured.**

"Thanks, I will need it" Harry murmured lowly, not wanting to upset his mother even more.

**He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. **

**A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…**

With that all women in the room were fuming and Harry blushing;

**He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter — the boy who lived!"**

"That's the end" Albus said

"Can I read next?" Arthur asked

"Of course" Albus handed him the book. Arthur took it and declared

"Next chapter is called 'Vanishing Glass'"

**Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it. Please keep reading and review. I'd also like to ask you to read my other story ****'**_The Twin Potters and the Philosopher's Stone' _**I know that it is another type of story that is getting cliché. But I had an idea and I'm trying to do it as differently as I can. **

**Well, Hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Ass. Keep 'On Rocking **


	3. Vanishing Glass

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

Chapter 3:

Vanishing Glass

"**Vanishing Glass" **Arthur read

**Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys' front door; it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls.**

"Don't they like to change things a bit?" Jane asked "I mean… it gets boring after a while"

"Petunia doesn't like changes" Lily told her "Take her bedroom for example, the only change it had since the day she was born was the crib that was replaced by a bed"

"You mean she spent her teenager years with a bedroom that still looked like a child bedroom?" Sirius asked her incredulous

"Yeah, that's why she almost never had her friends over" Lily said

"And she still refused to re-decorate it?" Remus raised an eyebrow. Lily nodded "Your sister's nuts, Lils" He and Sirius told her in a chorus.

**Only the photographs on the mantelpiece really showed how much time had passed. Ten years ago, there had been lots of pictures of what looked like a large pink beach ball wearing different-colored bonnets,**

Harry laughed. Yup, balls described Dudley's photos perfectly.

**but Dudley Dursley was no longer a baby, and now the photographs showed a large blond boy riding his first bicycle, on a carousel at the fair, playing a computer game with his father, being hugged and kissed by his mother. The room held no sign at all that another boy lived in the house, too. **

"Did you move out?" Sirius asked hopefully, but Harry shook his head sadly

**Yet Harry Potter was still there, asleep at the moment, but not for long. His Aunt Petunia was awake and it was her shrill voice that made the first noise of the day. **

"**Up! Get up! Now!" **

Lily shuddered and looked at her son with sympathy "Poor you, I know how horrible it is to wake up with her screaming at you"

"Not one of the most pleasant things" Harry agreed.

**Harry woke with a start. His aunt rapped on the door again. **

"**Up!" she screeched. Harry heard her walking toward the kitchen and then the sound of the frying pan being put on the stove. He rolled onto his back and tried to remember the dream he had been having. It had been a good one. There had been a flying motorcycle in it. **

"You remembered my bike" Sirius grinned at his godson

**He had a funny feeling he'd had the same dream before.**

"It wasn't a dream" Sirius told him

**His aunt was back outside the door. ****"****Are you up yet?" she demanded. **

"**Nearly," said Harry. **

"**Well, get a move on, I want you to look after the bacon. And don't you dare let it burn, I want everything perfect on Duddy's birthday." **

"It's the brat's birthday" James said disgusted

"Maybe we should give him a present" Fred whispered to George quietly, who grinned at him "Maybe we should"

**Harry groaned. **

"**What did you say?" his aunt snapped through the door. **

"**Nothing, nothing…" **

**Dudley's birthday — how could he have forgotten? **

"I don't blame you" Bill told him "I'd want to forget it too"

**Harry got slowly out of bed and started looking for socks. He found a pair under his bed and, after pulling a spider off one of them, put them on.**

Ron shuddered

**Harry was used to spiders****,**

"You're used to spiders?" Ron asked Harry incredulous "Why would you bee used to it?"

Harry sifted uncomfortably on his seat, he didn't everyone to hear that he used to sleep in the cupboard

**because the cupboard under the stairs was full of them, and that was where he slept.**

"YOU WHAT?!" Erupted in thee room from all directions

"I'm going to murder Petunia" Lily said "How could she?"

"I'm going to help you, Lils" Sirius said "If I'm going to Azkaban I better do a good job" He added darkly

"That's unacceptable" Remus protested "They can't treat you like that" He told Harry

"We'll prank them" George said

"We'll prank them so badly that they'll wish they were never born" Fred added and Molly for the first time did mind hearing about the twin's pranks plans.

"They can't do that" She told her husband angrily "He's just a child, it's not healthy!"

"I know, Molly, I know" Arthur agreed, his eyes filled with anger, which was a rare thing to Arthur.

"Who do those Muggles think they are?!" Moody protested

"Yes, they can't treat Harry Potter like that" Augusta agreed

"Wanna help the twins prank them?" Charlie asked his older brother

"You read my mind, dear brother" Bill nodded, he hated injustice.

"I'm in as well" Tonks said as she overheard the two brothers.

"That's not right" Frank said as he and Alice hugged their son knowing that he would at least be safe with Frank's mother. Hagrid was mumbling about how he should have given the stupid muggle more than a pig tail.

Beside him, Ron was angry in anger, no one should be treated by that but he didn't say anything because he knew that Harry felt bad enough since that guy was so red that he looked about to explode in embarrassment. Ginny was about just as angry as Ron, she felt like she could hex someone, if she knew how, that moment she made a mental note to find a real good hex when she started Hogwarts.

"You still think it was a good idea, Albus?" Minerva asked angrily, Albus was speechless and the glint in his eyes gone, even Severus was mad.

Meanwhile, Hermione and David were discussing ways to get Harry out of the Dursleys' house as Jane babbled angrily "That's child abuse, you can't treat a child like that" She looked at Harry "If you want we can work something and both your aunt and your uncle can go to prison…"

James heard that and suddenly a concern crossed his mind, he pulled his son aside and asked as lowly as he could manage "Harry, did they ever hurt you?" Unluckly, the room has a good hearing and that question made all the commotion stop. Harry blushed but managed to shook his head

"They did lock me on the cupboard, and they did sometimes starve me…" He admitted "But they never touched me"

With that, an awkward silence filled the room. Arthur cleared his throat and began reading again.

**When he was dressed he went down the hall into the kitchen. The table was almost hidden beneath all Dudley's birthday presents. It looked as though Dudley had gotten the new computer he wanted, not to mention the second television and the racing bike.**

"Why would he want a bike?" Sirius asked trying to lighten the mood "He'll break it"

**Exactly why Dudley wanted a racing bike was a mystery to Harry, **

"Glad you agree with me, Harry" Sirius high-fived Harry

**as Dudley was very fat and hated exercise — unless of course it involved punching somebody. Dudley's favorite punching bag was Harry, **

"He'll be my punching bag when I'm done here" James said

**but he couldn't often catch him. Harry didn't look it, but he was very fast.**

"Just like your old man" James grinned at his son

**Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. **

"This had got nothing to do with the cupboard, Harry" Remus told him and received a confused look

**He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley's, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobby knees, black hair, and bright green eyes.**

"Ahh! The Potter curse" Sirius and Remus laughed

"What curse?" Harry asked confused as James frowned and Lily smiled

"Every male Potter has a thin face, knobby knees and a hair that looks as if it has never seen a comb" Remus and Sirius chorused as Harry blushed, thought he was happier than he had ever been.

**He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. **

Lily's lips straightened in line as she fought to stay calm

**The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. **

"I don't like it so much anymore" He said a bit annoyed at how much attention it got to him

**He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it. **

"**In the car crash when your parents died," she had said. **

"What?!" Erupted in the room again

"LILY AND JAMES DIDN'T DIE IN A BLOODY CAR CRASH" Sirius and Remus yelled and seeing that this would take some more time if he let this go Albus cleared his throat

"I think…" He started "…that we should keep reading" And that was enough to make Arthur read again

"**And don't ask questions." **_**Don't ask questions **_**— that was the first rule for a quiet life with the Dursleys.**

"How will you learn if you don't ask questions?" Hermione frowned quietly

**Uncle Vernon entered the kitchen as Harry was turning over the bacon. "Comb your hair!" he barked, by way of a morning greeting.**

"Not gonna work" James and Harry smirked at each other. Lily smiled at her boys and Severus stared at the family jealously

_Just my luck! _He thought _Two James Potters_

**About once a week, Uncle Vernon looked over the top of his newspaper and shouted that Harry needed a haircut. Harry must have had more haircuts than the rest of the boys in his class put together, but it made no difference, his hair simply grew that way — all over the place. **

"Potter Curse" Remus and Sirius repeated

**Harry was frying eggs by the time Dudley arrived in the kitchen with his mother. Dudley looked a lot like Uncle Vernon. He had a large pink face, not much neck, small, watery blue eyes, and thick blond hair that lay smoothly on his thick, fat head. Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel**

"Yeah, right! He looks more like a pig to me" James snorted as Tonks asked Lily

"Does your sister have sigh problems?" Lily pretended to think for a moment "You know, now that you mention it, Petunia used to always crash into closed door…"

**Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.**

"That's right, son" James patted Harry in the back

**Harry put the plates of egg and bacon on the table, which was difficult as there wasn't much room. Dudley, meanwhile, was counting his presents. His face fell. **

"**Thirty-six," he said, looking up at his mother and father. "That's two less than last year."**

"Stupid brat" Ron said

"**Darling, you haven't counted Auntie Marge's present, see, it's here under this big one from Mummy and Daddy." **

"**All right, thirty-seven then," said Dudley, going red in the face.**

"He's really mad because of that?" Minerva asked disgusted

"Dudley's the most spoiled kid I've ever seen" Molly said and Jane nodded agreeing.

**Harry, who could see a huge Dudley tantrum coming on, began wolfing down his bacon as fast as possible in case Dudley turned the table over. Aunt Petunia obviously scented danger, too, because she said quickly, **

"**And we'll buy you another **_**two **_**presents while we're out today. How's that, popkin?" **

"Popkin" Thee twins laughed

"_**Two **_**more presents. Is that all right?" Dudley thought for a moment. It looked like hard work. Finally he said slowly, "So I'll have thirty… thirty…" **

"He can't even count" Moody grunted

"**Thirty-nine, sweetums," said Aunt Petunia.**

"**Oh." Dudley sat down heavily and grabbed the nearest parcel. "All right then." Uncle Vernon chuckled. **

"**Little tyke wants his money's worth, just like his father. 'Atta boy, Dudley!" He ruffled Dudley's hair. **

"He supports that" David grimaced "How much of a bad father is he?"

**At that moment the telephone rang and Aunt Petunia went to answer it while Harry and Uncle Vernon watched Dudley unwrap the racing bike, a video camera, a remote control airplane, sixteen new computer games, and a VCR. He was ripping the paper off a gold wristwatch when Aunt Petunia came back from the telephone looking both angry and worried. **

"**Bad news, Vernon," she said. "Mrs. Figg's broken her leg. She can't take him."**

"Is this Arabella Figg from the Order" Minerva asked Albus who nodded "I see she has been doing her job" He commented

**She jerked her head in Harry's direction. Dudley's mouth fell open in horror, but Harry's heart gave a leap. Every year on Dudley's birthday, his parents took him and a friend out for the day, to adventure parks, hamburger restaurants, or the movies. Every year, Harry was left behind with Mrs. Figg, a mad old lady who lived two streets away. Harry hated it there. The whole house smelled of cabbage and Mrs. Figg made him look at photographs of all the cats she'd ever owned. **

"Ugh! Poor you, Harry" Sirius said "Having to hear about cats…" With that Remus and James rolled their eyes

"I like cats" Hermione frowned at him "They're cute"

"Well, to me they're just stupid balls of fur" Sirius argued

"What's with you and cats, Sirius?" Frank asked "You're always like that when they're mentioned

"Like I said, I hate cats with all of my heart" Sirius said

"**Now what?" said Aunt Petunia, looking furiously at Harry as though he'd planned this. Harry knew he ought to feel sorry that Mrs. Figg had broken her leg, but it wasn't easy when he reminded himself it would be a whole year before he had to look at Tibbles, Snowy, Mr. Paws, and Tufty again. **

"See, they even have stupid names" Sirius said trying to prove that cats are stupid

"**We could phone Marge," Uncle Vernon suggested. **

"Oh, no! Please" Lily said "Marge's horrible. I seriously despise that woman"

"Me too, mum" Harry agreed as he shuddered remembering her last visit.

"**Don't be silly, Vernon, she hates the boy." The Dursleys often spoke about Harry like this, as though he wasn't there — or rather, as though he was something very nasty that couldn't understand them, like a slug. **

"He can understand you and he has a name" Minerva huffed

"**What about what's-her-name, your friend — Yvonne?" **

"**On vacation in Majorca," snapped Aunt Petunia. **

"**You could just leave me here," Harry put in hopefully (he'd be able to watch what he wanted on television for a change and maybe even have a go on Dudley's computer). Aunt Petunia looked as though she'd just swallowed a lemon. **

"**And come back and find the house in ruins?" she snarled. **

"**I won't blow up the house," said Harry, **

"You should" Fred said

"And maybe we could help you with that" George grinned at him. The Marauders exchanged a look _Pranksters_

**but they weren't listening.**

"**I suppose we could take him to the zoo," said Aunt Petunia slowly, "… and leave him in the car…"**

"They can go to prison for that too" Hermione told Harry, who lookd thoughtful

"**That car's new, he's not sitting in it alone…" Dudley began to cry loudly. In fact, he wasn't really crying — it had been years since he'd really cried — but he knew that if he screwed up his face and wailed, his mother would give him anything he wanted. **

The mothers in the room looked completely disgusted and annoyed

"**Dinky Duddydums,**

"Dinky…" Fred started

"…Duddy…" George continued

"…dums" They said together as they exploded in laughter. Everyone was laughing even Moody and Severus. It took them several minutes to calm down and start reading again

**don't cry, Mummy won't let him spoil your special day!" she cried, flinging her arms around him. **

"**I… don't… want… him… t-t-to come!" Dudley yelled between huge, pretend sobs. "He always sp-spoils everything!" He shot Harry a nasty grin through the gap in his mother's arms. Just then, the doorbell rang — "Oh, good Lord, they're here!" said Aunt Petunia frantically — and a moment later, Dudley's best friend, Piers Polkiss, walked in with his mother. Piers was a scrawny boy with a face like a rat. He was usually the one who held people's arms behind their backs while Dudley hit them. **

"Idiots" Sirius faked a cough

**Dudley stopped pretending to cry at once. **

**Half an hour later, Harry, who couldn't believe his luck, was sitting in the back of the Dursleys' car with Piers and Dudley, on the way to the zoo for the first time in his life. His aunt and uncle hadn't been able to think of anything else to do with him, but before they'd left, Uncle Vernon had taken Harry aside. **

"**I'm warning you," he had said, putting his large purple face right up close to Harry's, "I'm warning you now, boy — any funny business, anything at all — and you'll be in that cupboard from now until Christmas." **

"He can't do that" Jane said "It's… it's… ugh" She wasn't able to finish as she was still really angry. To her, justice is everything. That's where Hermione gets it from.

"**I'm not going to do anything," said Harry, "honestly…" But Uncle Vernon didn't believe him. No one ever did. The problem was, strange things often happened around Harry and it was just no good telling the Dursleys he didn't make them happen. Once, Aunt Petunia, tired of Harry coming back from the barbers looking as though he hadn't been at all, had taken a pair of kitchen scissors and cut his hair so short he was almost bald except for his bangs, which she left "to hide that horrible scar." **

"What?!" Lily exclaimed "I'm going to shave her hair the next time I see her"

**Dudley had laughed himself silly at Harry, who spent a sleepless night imagining school the next day, where he was already laughed at for his baggy clothes and taped glasses. Next morning, however, he had gotten up to find his hair exactly as it had been before Aunt Petunia had sheared it off.**

James grinned "Nothing beats the Potter hair"

**He had been given a week in his cupboard for this, even though he had tried to explain that he **_**couldn't **_**explain how it had grown back so quickly. Another time, Aunt Petunia had been trying to force him into a revolting old sweater of Dudley's (brown with orange puff balls). **

"Ugh" Tonks quivered in repugnance "It must be horrible"

**The harder she tried to pull it over his head, the smaller it seemed to become, until finally it might have fitted a hand puppet, but certainly wouldn't fit Harry. **

"Good job, Harry" She nodded approvingly on how he got away with wearing that thing.

**Aunt Petunia had decided it must have shrunk in the wash and, to his great relief, Harry wasn't punished. **

"Petunia always denies what she doesn't want to believe" Lily shook her head "Thought this time it's lucky"

**On the other hand, he'd gotten into terrible trouble for being found on the roof of the school kitchens. Dudley's gang had been chasing him as usual when, as much to Harry's surprise as anyone else's, there he was sitting on the chimney. **

"Awesome you apparated" Charlie cheered

"I… what?" Harry asked confused

"Apparated, you know, when you're somewhere and then 'pop' you're somewhere else" Fred joked receiving a look from his mother, Percy and Professor McGonagall for his poor explanation, but they let it go.

**The Dursleys had received a very angry letter from Harry's headmistress telling them Harry had been climbing school buildings. But all he'd tried to do (as he shouted at Uncle Vernon through the locked door of his cupboard) was jump behind the big trashcans outside the kitchen doors. Harry supposed that the wind must have caught him in mid-jump.**

Harry blushed as everyone laughed at him

"I don't think anyone's that thin, cub" Remus smiled at him

**But today, nothing was going to go wrong. It was even worth being with Dudley and Piers to be spending the day somewhere that wasn't school, his cupboard, or Mrs. Figg's cabbage-smelling living room. While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects. This morning, it was motorcycles. "roaring along like maniacs, the young hoodlums," he said, as a motorcycle overtook them. **

"**I had a dream about a motorcycle," said Harry, remembering suddenly. "It was flying." **

"Oh, no" Lily sighed

"Bad move, mate" Ron slapped Harry in the back playfully

**Uncle Vernon nearly crashed into the car in front. He turned right around in his seat and yelled at Harry, his face like a gigantic beet with a mustache: "MOTORCYCLES DON'T FLY!" **

"Yes, they do" Sirius sang

**Dudley and Piers sniggered.**

"**I know they don't," said Harry. "It was only a dream." But he wished he hadn't said anything. If there was one thing the Dursleys hated even more than his asking questions, it was his talking about anything acting in a way it shouldn't, no matter if it was in a dream or even a cartoon — they seemed to think he might get dangerous ideas. **

"Maybe, _we_ should watch them" George whispered to Fred who snorted

"Oh no, you won't" Molly told her sons as she overheard them. The Marauders grinned _Definitely Pranksters _

**It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice pop. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond. **

Most boys in the room laughed at Harry's remark

**Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant, and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory didn't have enough ice cream on top, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first. Harry felt, afterward, that he should have known it was all too good to last.**

"I don't like the sound of that" Lily, Molly, Jane and Minerva said together in an unexpected chorus. They looked at each other in surprise

"Women" Sirius rolled his eyes receiving a glare from the said women.

**After lunch they went to the reptile house. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Dudley and Piers wanted to see huge, poisonous cobras and thick, man-crushing pythons. Dudley quickly found the largest snake in the place. It could have wrapped its body twice around Uncle Vernon's car and crushed it into a trash can — but at the moment it didn't look in the mood. In fact, it was fast asleep. Dudley stood with his nose pressed against the glass, staring at the glistening brown coils. **

"**Make it move," he whined at his father. Uncle Vernon tapped on the glass, but the snake didn't budge. "Do it again," Dudley ordered. Uncle Vernon rapped the glass smartly with his knuckles, but the snake just snoozed on. **

"Yes, snakey, don't do what the monkey wants you to do" Sirius yelled, as people shot him weird looks.

"**This is boring," Dudley moaned. He shuffled away. Harry moved in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself — no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long. It was worse than having a cupboard as a bedroom, where the only visitor was Aunt Petunia hammering on the door to wake you up; at least he got to visit the rest of the house. The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Harry's. **_**It winked.**_

"What?" James asked "It winked?"

"Can a snake wink?' David asked "I mean… does it have eyelashes?"

"I think it can since it winked at me" Harry told him, a bit confused on why his father was so shocked. Wasn't it normal for wizards to talk to snakes?

**Harry stared. Then he looked quickly around to see if anyone was watching. They weren't. He looked back at the snake and winked, too.**

James was holding his breath, his son couldn't be a Parseltongue? Could he? It was a gift passed by blood and no Potter is a Parseltongue…

**The snake jerked its head toward Uncle Vernon and Dudley, then raised its eyes to the ceiling. It gave Harry a look that said quite plainly: "**_**I get that all the time." **_

"You're a Parseltongue?" James looked at his son shocked

"A what?" Harry asked confused

"You can talk to snakes" James explained

"I know" Harry said proudly "Isn't that cool?" He asked but his father kept quiet

"You can't be a Parseltongue, it's a gift passed by your family and no Potter has ever been a Parseltongue and Lily's muggle born…" James stated nervously

"I think I know the answer to that question, Mr. Potter" Albus said "But I'm afraid I can't tell… how about we keep reading. I'm sure the book will give us the answer"

Arthur took his cue and started reading again.

"**I know," Harry murmured through the glass, though he wasn't sure the snake could hear him. **

"**It must be really annoying." The snake nodded vigorously. **

Lily bit her lip, as she watched James go green in confusion.

"**Where do you come from, anyway?" Harry asked. The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it. **

"**Boa Constrictor, Brazil. **

"Oh, I've been in Brazil" Augusta said "It's really nice there"

**Was it nice there?" **

"Yes"

**The boa constrictor jabbed its tail at the sign again and Harry read on: This specimen was bred in the zoo. **

"**Oh, I see — so you've never been to Brazil?" As the snake shook its head, a deafening shout behind Harry made both of them jump. **

"**DUDLEY! MR. DURSLEY! COME AND LOOK AT THIS SNAKE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT IT'S DOING!" Dudley came waddling toward them as fast as he could. **

"Idiot" Tonks shook her head

"**Out of the way, you," he said, punching Harry in the ribs. Caught by surprise, Harry fell hard on the concrete floor. What came next happened so fast no one saw how it happened — one second, Piers and Dudley were leaning right up close to the glass, the next, they had leapt back with howls of horror. Harry sat up and gasped; the glass front of the boa constrictor's tank had vanished.**

James forgot about the Parseltongue thing and laughed "Yeah, awesome" along with Sirius, Bill, Charlie and the twins

"Are you crazy?" Remus glared at him "Someone could've gotten hurt"

**The great snake was uncoiling itself rapidly, slithering out onto the floor. People throughout the reptile house screamed and started running for the exits. As the snake slid swiftly past him, Harry could have sworn a low, hissing voice said, **

"_**Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo." **_**The keeper of the reptile house was in shock. **

"Poor guy" Jane said concerned "He could've lost his job"

"**But the glass," he kept saying, "where did the glass go?" The zoo director himself made Aunt Petunia a cup of strong, sweet tea while he apologized over and over again. Piers and Dudley could only gibber. As far as Harry had seen, the snake hadn't done anything except snap playfully at their heels as it passed, but by the time they were all back in Uncle Vernon's car, Dudley was telling them how it had nearly bitten off his leg, while Piers was swearing it had tried to squeeze him to death. But worst of all, for Harry at least, was Piers calming down enough to say, "Harry was talking to it, weren't you, Harry?" **

"Shut up" Sirius groaned

"He had to get you in trouble, didn't he?" Tonks sighed

**Uncle Vernon waited until Piers was safely out of the house before starting on Harry. He was so angry he could hardly speak. He managed to say, "Go — cupboard — stay — no meals," **

"He can't starve you" Jane, Molly and Lily exclaimed

"When I'm done here, he'll go to jail" Jane promised Harry

**before he collapsed into a chair, and Aunt Petunia had to run and get him a large brandy. Harry lay in his dark cupboard much later, wishing he had a watch. He didn't know what time it was and he couldn't be sure the Dursleys were asleep yet. Until they were, he couldn't risk sneaking to the kitchen for some food. **

"A true marauder" Sirius grinned. Fred and George exchanged a look. What did he mean by that?

"Maybe we'll give you some tips, pup" Sirius grinned at Harry as Fred and George made a mental note to pay close attention to him.

**He'd lived with the Dursleys almost ten years, ten miserable years, as long as he could remember, ever since he'd been a baby and his parents had died in that car crash. He couldn't remember being in the car when his parents had died. **

"That's because they didn't die at a car crash" Augusta stated

**Sometimes, when he strained his memory during long hours in his cupboard, he came up with a strange vision: a blinding flash of green light and a burning pain on his forehead. **

Lily and James sighed, they still couldn't believe that their son survived thee killing curse.

**This, he supposed, was the crash, though he couldn't imagine where all the green light came from. He couldn't remember his parents at all. His aunt and uncle never spoke about them, and of course he was forbidden to ask questions. There were no photographs of them in the house. When he had been younger, Harry had dreamed and dreamed of some unknown relation coming to take him away, but it had never happened; the Dursleys were his only family. **

"That reminds me" Remus said "Where the hell am I?" He asked "Why didn't I try to get in touch with Harry?"

"That'd be my fault, Mr. Lupin" Albus confessed guiltily "I asked you not to, knowing that it would be hard for Harry to live with the Dursleys knowing that he could escape with you"

"And why can't I?" Harry asked, he liked Remus and would prefer him a thousand times over the Dursleys.

"I promise to explain it to you later." Albus said "Let's read some more before…" He added, he wanted to see if his future self had a better explanation or with something would happen that would help them to see why Harry had to live with his Aunt.

**Yet sometimes he thought (or maybe hoped) that strangers in the street seemed to know him. Very strange strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a violet top hat had bowed to him once while out shopping with Aunt Petunia and Dudley. **

"Wizards" Arthur snorted quietly

**After asking Harry furiously if he knew the man, Aunt Petunia had rushed them out of the shop without buying anything. A wild-looking old woman dressed all in green had waved merrily at him once on a bus. A bald man in a very long purple coat had actually shaken his hand in the street the other day and then walked away without a word. **

"You must have thought they were mental" Ron laughed

"You know what" Harry laughed too "I did" He grinned at Ron, he liked him.

**The weirdest thing about all these people was the way they seemed to vanish the second Harry tried to get a closer look. **

Moody shook his head at the carelessness.

**At school, Harry had no one. Everybody knew that Dudley's gang hated that odd Harry Potter in his baggy old clothes and broken glasses, and nobody liked to disagree with Dudley's gang.**

"Stupid" Charlie rolled his eyes

"That's the end" Arthur declared

"Can I read next, dad?" Percy asked

"Sure" Arthur handed the book to his son. Percy took the book in his hands and told the room

"The next chapter is called 'Letters From No One'"


	4. Letters From No One

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

Chapter 4:

Letters From No One

"**Letters From No One"** Percy read

**The escape of the Brazilian boa constrictor earned Harry his longest-ever punishment. By the time he was allowed out of his cupboard again, the summer holidays had started **

"You mean you missed school?" Jane narrowed her eyes

"No, I did go to school, bit when I got home I'd go straight to my cupboard" Harry explained

**and Dudley had already broken his new video camera, crashed his remote control airplane, and, first time out on his racing bike, knocked down old Mrs. Figg as she crossed Privet Drive on her crutches. **

"Poor Mrs. Figg" Minerva said

**Harry was glad school was over, but there was no escaping Dudley's gang, who visited the house every single day. Piers, Dennis, Malcolm, and Gordon were all big and stupid, but as Dudley was the biggest and stupidest of the lot, he was the leader. **

"Smart" Moody grunted "Follow the stupidest, huh"

**The rest of them were all quite happy to join in Dudley's favourite sport: Harry Hunting.**

"I think Dudley Hunting will be far more interesting" Sirius said

**This was why Harry spent as much time as possible out of the house, wandering around and thinking about the end of the holidays, where he could see a tiny ray of hope. When September came he would be going off to secondary school and, for the first time in his life, he wouldn't be with Dudley. **

"You'll be away from Duddy," James told him but at Hogwarts.

**Dudley had been accepted at Uncle Vernon's old private school, Smeltings. Piers Polkiss was going there too. Harry, on the other hand, was going to Stonewall High, the local public school. Dudley thought this was very funny. **

"As if Smeltings is any better" Alice huffed "Lucky you, you're going to Hogwarts"

"**They stuff people's heads down the toilet the first day at Stonewall," he told Harry. "Want to come upstairs and practice?" **

"**No, thanks," said Harry. "The poor toilet's never had anything as horrible as your head down it — it might be sick." **

With that the room erupted in laughter

"Good one, Harry" Fred and George winked at him

"He has your cheek, Lily" James told his wife lovingly as grinned at his son.

**Then he ran, before Dudley could work out what he'd said. **

"Doubt he'll be able to do so, mate" Ron snorted

**One day in July, Aunt Petunia took Dudley to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, leaving Harry at Mrs. Figg's. Mrs. Figg wasn't as bad as usual. It turned out she'd broken her leg tripping over one of her cats, and she didn't seem quite as fond of them as before. She let Harry watch television and gave him a bit of chocolate cake that tasted as though she'd had it for several years. **

"Eww, that's a waste of chocolate" Remus commented

**That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his brand-new uniform. Smeltings' boys wore maroon tailcoats, orange knickerbockers, and flat straw hats called boaters. They also carried knobbly sticks, used for hitting each other while the teachers weren't looking. This was supposed to be good training for later life. **

"Wow, what a great school" Molly sarcastically "The uniform is a weapon for fights"

Charlie looked at his mother strangely, "You do realize that a wand is kind of a uniform at Hogwarts too, since you have to have it and it is a weapon much more powerful than a stick, right?"

The Weasleys looked at Charlie as if he had lost his mind. Molly glared at her son, how dare he question her like in front of so many people no least. Charlie, instantly backed on his mother's glare.

"I'm sorry, you're right, I didn't mean to correct you. I was wrong. I'm sorry, mom" He said quickly in one breath. The Marauders sniggered at Charlie's actions.

**As he looked at Dudley in his new knickerbockers, Uncle Vernon said gruffly that it was the proudest moment of his life. Aunt Petunia burst into tears and said she couldn't believe it was her Ickle Dudleykins, he looked so handsome and grown-up. **

"Again with the sigh problems…" Tonks sighed

**Harry didn't trust himself to speak. He thought two of his ribs might already have cracked from trying not to laugh. **

"I hear you, mate" Neville muttered lowly, but loud enough for his parents and grandmother to hear what resulted into a slap from his two favourite women and the Weasleys twins laughing at him.

**There was a horrible smell in the kitchen the next morning when Harry went in for breakfast. It seemed to be coming from a large metal tub in the sink. He went to have a look. The tub was full of what looked like dirty rags swimming in gray water. **

"**What's this?" he asked Aunt Petunia. Her lips tightened as they always did if he dared to ask a question. **

"**Your new school uniform," she said. **

**Harry looked in the bowl again. **

"**Oh," he said, "I didn't realize it had to be so wet."**

"Definitely your cheek, Lily" Remus told the red-haired girl who couldn't help but smile.

"**Don't be stupid," snapped Aunt Petunia. "I'm dyeing some of Dudley's old things gray for you. It'll look just like everyone else's when I've finished." **

**Harry seriously doubted this, but thought it best not to argue. He sat down at the table and tried not to think about how he was going to look on his first day at Stonewall High — like he was wearing bits of old elephant skin, probably. **

"Sure, they can spend a fortune on things for Duddy to break but they can't buy a decent school uniform for Harry" Minerva rolled her eyes.

**Dudley and Uncle Vernon came in, both with wrinkled noses because of the smell from Harry's new uniform. Uncle Vernon opened his newspaper as usual and Dudley banged his Smelting stick, which he carried everywhere, on the table. **

**They heard the click of the mail slot and flop of letters on the doormat. **

"**Get the mail, Dudley," said Uncle Vernon from behind his paper. **

"He actually asked Dudley to do something?" Charlie asked shocked

"That's weird" Bill agreed

"**Make Harry get it." **

"**Get the mail, Harry." **

"Of course" Charlie sighed "I should've known"

"Wow, he said your name" Tonks observed, Harry nodded "That's something you don't see everyday

"**Make Dudley get it." **

"**Poke him with your Smelting stick, Dudley." **

"That's so unfair" Percy said exasperated

"Life's unfair" Harry stated

**Harry dodged the Smelting stick and went to get the mail. Three things lay on the doormat: a postcard from Uncle Vernon's sister Marge, who was vacationing on the Isle of Wight, a brown envelope that looked like a bill, and — **_**a letter for Harry**_**. **

"Yes" James and Sirius cheered "Your Hogwarts letter"

**Harry picked it up and stared at it, his heart twanging like a giant elastic band. No one, ever, in his whole life, had written to him. Who would? **

"I would" Remus frowned "And that reminds me, why didn't I?" He looked at Albus and so did Lily.

"Ok, that'd be my fault" Albus admitted "I asked you not to"

"Why, may I ask?" Remus raised en eyebrow

"There's a reason why Harry should, no, has to live with the Dursleys" He started "I'm not so sure I can tell you yet, but he has to live with them and if he knew he had someone who cared so much about him as I'm sure you do. He'd want to move out with you… but he can't"

"Why?" Harry asked "Why am I stuck at the Dursleys? They hate me and think that I'm a waste of space"

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait for that answer, Harry" Albus bowed his head, he knew why but he didn't want to explain it yet, he wanted a prove in the book.

**He had no friends, no other relatives — he didn't belong to the library, so he'd never even got rude notes asking for books back. Yet here it was, a letter, addressed so plainly there could be no mistake: **

_**Mr. H. Potter **_

_**The Cupboard under the Stairs 4 Privet Drive **_

_**Little Whinging **_

_**Surrey**_

**The envelope was thick and heavy, made of yellowish parchment, and the address was written in emerald-green ink. There was no stamp. Turning the envelope over, his hand trembling, Harry saw a purple wax seal bearing a coat of arms; a lion, an eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter **_**H**_**. **

"You're going to Hogwarts" James smiled happily

"**Hurry up, boy!" shouted Uncle Vernon from the kitchen. "What are you doing, checking for letter bombs?" He chuckled at his own joke. **

"That is a joke…" Fred scoffed

"We'll show what a joke is" George grinned

"Fred, George" Molly warned

"So I take you guys are pranksters" James grinned

"Pranksters…" Fred said

"…Jokesters…" George added

"…Tricksters…"

"…Comedians"

"Whatever you prefer" They finally declared together

"Awesome" Sirius and James chorused, as Molly glared at them. _Great _she thought _Now they're going to do even more pranks with the help of the Marauders…just to make it all worst_

**Harry went back to the kitchen, still staring at his letter. **

"No, read the letter at the hallway" Hermione said as Harry smiled sheepish at her

**He handed Uncle Vernon the bill and the postcard, sat down, and slowly began to open the yellow envelope. Uncle Vernon ripped open the bill, snorted in disgust, and flipped over the postcard. **

"**Marge's ill," he informed Aunt Petunia. "Ate a funny whelk…" **

"**Dad!" said Dudley suddenly. "Dad, Harry's got something!"**

"Shut up, brat" several people yelled

**Harry was on the point of unfolding his letter, which was written on the same heavy parchment as the envelope, when it was jerked sharply out of his hand by Uncle Vernon. **

"Idiot" Moody hissed

"**That's **_**mine**_**!" said Harry, trying to snatch it back. **

"Yes, that's right" Bill cheered

"Yeah, you tell him, Harry" Ron yelled. Harry blushed

"**Who'd be writing to you?" sneered Uncle Vernon, shaking the letter open with one hand and glancing at it. His face went from red to green faster than a set of traffic lights. And it didn't stop there. Within seconds it was the grayish white of old porridge. **

"Aww, looks like someone's afraid" Sirius sang.

"**P-P-Petunia!" he gasped. **

**Dudley tried to grab the letter to read it, but Uncle Vernon held it high out of his reach. Aunt Petunia took it curiously and read the first line. For a moment it looked as though she might faint. She clutched her throat and made a choking noise. **

"**Vernon! Oh my goodness — Vernon!"**

"Aww, c'mon" Frank said annoyed "Give him the letter already"

"Not gonna happen that easily" Harry sighed

**They stared at each other, seeming to have forgotten that Harry and Dudley were still in the room. Dudley wasn't used to being ignored. He gave his father a sharp tap on the head with his Smelting stick. **

"**I want to read that letter," he said loudly. **

"If the father is idiot enough to let his son hit him like that, then no wonder the boy is like that" David said

"Yes, I agree" Arthur said "Kids have to respect their fathers"

"_**I **_**want to read it," said Harry furiously, "as it's **_**mine**_**." **

"And again, Harry's the one right" Remus said

"**Get out, both of you," croaked Uncle Vernon, stuffing the letter back inside its envelope. Harry didn't move. **

"**I WANT MY LETTER!" he shouted.**

"Aww" Sirius sang "Dear Lily's temper"

Lily glared him, everyone chuckled

"**Let **_**me **_**see it!" demanded Dudley. **

"He has no right to read it. It's your letter" Hermione said

"**OUT!" roared Uncle Vernon, and he took both Harry and Dudley by the scruffs of their necks and threw them into the hall, slamming the kitchen door behind them. Harry and Dudley promptly had a furious but silent fight over who would listen at the keyhole; Dudley won, so Harry, his glasses dangling from one ear, lay flat on his stomach to listen at the crack between door and floor. **

"Eavesdropping, Harry" Sirius forced a disappointed face to look at Harry, who looked down at the floor ashamed, but then Sirius hugged "I'm proud of you"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Sirius, if you spoil my son…"

"**Vernon," Aunt Petunia was saying in a quivering voice, "look at the address — how could they possibly know where he sleeps? You don't think they're watching the house?" **

"That's actually a good question" Alice said "How do they know where they sleep?"

"Magic" Minerva grinned at her old student

"**Watching — spying — might be following us," muttered Uncle Vernon wildly.**

"Yeah, right, as if we'd waste out time following stupid muggles" Frank looked at the Grangers and added "No offence"

"None taken" They replied.

"**But what should we do, Vernon? Should we write back? Tell them we don't want —" **

"As if we'd let Harry Potter slip through our fingers" Minerva rolled her eyes

**Harry could see Uncle Vernon's shiny black shoes pacing up and down the kitchen. **

"**No," he said finally. "No, we'll ignore it. If they don't get an answer… Yes, that's best… we won't do anything…" **

"**But —" **

"**I'm not having one in the house, Petunia! Didn't we swear when we took him in we'd stamp out that dangerous nonsense?" **

"You can't stamp out magic" Arthur said "It's impossible"

"And dangerous" Remus added "If the magic is too strong, it can result in a lot of accidental magic and someone can end up getting hurt"

**That evening when he got back from work, Uncle Vernon did something he'd never done before; he visited Harry in his cupboard. **

"Did he enter in the cupboard?" Tonks asked curiously

"No, he doesn't fit on it" Harry responded. Tonks grinned "Just like I suspected"

"**Where's my letter?" said Harry, the moment Uncle Vernon had squeezed through the door. "Who's writing to me?" **

"**No one. It was addressed to you by mistake," said Uncle Vernon shortly. "I have burned it." **

"**It was **_**not **_**a mistake," said Harry angrily, "it had my cupboard on it." **

"**SILENCE!" yelled Uncle Vernon, and a couple of spiders fell from the ceiling. He took a few deep breaths and then forced his face into a smile, which looked quite painful. **

"**Er — yes, Harry — about this cupboard. Your aunt and I have been thinking… you're really getting a bit big for it… we think it might be nice if you moved into Dudley's second bedroom."**

"You mean that stupid brat has two bedrooms and my son sleeps on the BLOODY CUPBOARD" Lily yelled

"I'm going to kill them" James said angrily

"Humm… I got the bedroom at last" Harry said trying to change the subject, Arthur noticed that and started reading again

"**Why?" said Harry. **

"He thinks that doing that will stop the letters from arriving" Minerva rolled her eyes "As if…"

"**Don't ask questions!" snapped his uncle. "Take this stuff upstairs, now." **

**The Dursleys' house had four bedrooms: **

"You mean the house has four bedrooms…" Lily started ranting but the embarrassed look on her son's face made her stop

**one for Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia, one for visitors (usually Uncle Vernon's sister, Marge), one where Dudley slept, and one where Dudley kept all the toys and things that wouldn't fit into his first bedroom. It only took Harry one trip upstairs to move everything he owned from the cupboard to this room. He sat down on the bed and stared around him. Nearly everything in here was broken. The month-old video camera was lying on top of a small, working tank Dudley had once driven over the next door neighbor's dog; in the corner was Dudley's first-ever television set, which he'd put his foot through when his favorite program had been canceled; there was a large birdcage, which had once held a parrot that Dudley had swapped at school for a real air rifle, which was up on a shelf with the end all bent because Dudley had sat on it. Other shelves were full of books. They were the only things in the room that looked as though they'd never been touched. **

"That's a shame…" Hermione huffed

**From downstairs came the sound of Dudley bawling at his mother, "I don't **_**want **_**him in there… I **_**need **_**that room… make him get out…"**

"You don't need it, you stupid idiot" Lily yelled

**Harry sighed and stretched out on the bed. Yesterday he'd have given anything to be up here. Today he'd rather be back in his cupboard with that letter than up here without it. **

"Relax, Harry" Minerva told him "We'll get to you somehow"

**Next morning at breakfast, everyone was rather quiet. Dudley was in shock. He'd screamed, whacked his father with his Smelting stick, been sick on purpose, kicked his mother, and thrown his tortoise through the greenhouse roof, and he still didn't have his room back. **

"Awww, poor baby" Fred and George cooed at the same time as Sirius and James what earned them a exchange of surprised looks and a comment from Lily

"Great, a new pair of Sirius and James"

"You have no idea" Minerva agreed sighing, she looked at Remus "And this time with no Remus to control them"

**Harry was thinking about this time yesterday and bitterly wishing he'd opened the letter in the hall. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept looking at each other darkly. When the mail arrived, Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be trying to be nice to Harry, made Dudley go and get it. **

"Nice, right" Bill snorted

**They heard him banging things with his Smelting stick all the way down the hall. Then he shouted, "There's another one! 'Mr. H. Potter, The Smallest Bedroom, 4 Privet Drive —'" **

"You certainly seems to be inspired" Albus told Minerva who grinned

**With a strangled cry, Uncle Vernon leapt from his seat and ran down the hall, Harry right behind him. Uncle Vernon had to wrestle Dudley to the ground to get the letter from him, which was made difficult by the fact that Harry had grabbed Uncle Vernon around the neck from behind. After a minute of confused fighting, in which everyone got hit a lot by the Smelting stick, Uncle Vernon straightened up, gasping for breath, with Harry's letter clutched in his hand. **

"Damm" Sirius ranted

"**Go to your cupboard — I mean, your bedroom," he wheezed at Harry. "Dudley — go — just go." **

**Harry walked round and round his new room. Someone knew he had moved out of his cupboard and they seemed to know he hadn't received his first letter. Surely that meant they'd try again? And this time he'd make sure they didn't fail. He had a plan. **

"Like a true Marauder" Remus, James and Sirius sang happily

"The Marauders" Fred and George exchanged a look "You know them?"

"Of course we know them" James said

"Because we are the Marauders" Sirius said "I am Padfoot, James's Prongs and Remus's Moony. There's also Peter who is Wormtail… talking about Peter, why isn't he here?" Sirius looked around the room and no one could answer him. Meanwhile, Fred and George were flabbergasted.

"You…"

"…are…"

"… the…"

"…Marauders" They stared at the four young men shocked

"Yes" Remus couldn't help but smirk

"Do we have some fans here?" Sirius asked

"YES" Fred and George yelled excitedly

"We found your map…" George started

"… on first years…" Fred continued

"…And it's the most amazing…"

"…brilliant…"

"…thing…"

"…ever" Fred finished as they stared at the grinning Marauders

"So our plan worked" James said

"What plan?" Lily asked suspiciously

"When we were on our 7th year, we 'accidentally' let Filch get our map, hoping that someday a prankster who would be good enough to get on his office, steal the 'cool looking' parchment and figure it out, would appear" Sirius explained

"That's ridiculous" Lily rolled her eyes

"Yes, but it worked" Remus said "You two must be amazing pranksters if you were able to figure the map out"

"We found it on Filch's office and well, nicked it…" George said

"…it took some time but we eventually figured it out and we should thank you a lot…" Fred said

"Yes, it helped us plenty" George agreed

"No problem" The Marauders chorused "That was the intention help pranksters"

"Wait, What is the Marauders?" Harry asked confused

"It's not what, it's who" Sirius said "Your father, Remus, Peter and me are best friends and together we are the most successful group of pranksters Hogwarts has ever seen."

"And what is the map?" Harry asked again

"It's the stupidest thing those four have ever done" Lily frowned "I have to admit that it is brilliant, but still it is so reckless. Not to mention that they used it on wrong purpose"

"To help on our pranks we decided to do a map of Hogwarts" Remus told Harry calmly, ignoring what Lily had said. Hey you can't blame him, he _is_ a Marauder after all.

"Really?" Albus asked interested "That's, indeed, brilliant, couldn't expect less from the four of you, anyway"

"Thanks, Professor" James grinned mischievously

"You did a map of Hogwarts" Minerva groaned "And now Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley have it. Great"

"It's brilliant" The twin repeated

"You guys are our idols" Fred said

"Thank you, Thank you" Sirius grinned "We can give you some tips if you want to…"

"Oh, no" Molly said "You've already caused enough trouble, Sirius Black"

"Then maybe…" James started but Molly's glare cut him off

"Now tell, what in the world possessed you to do that?" She asked "Do you know in how much trouble my sons got in because you 'map' probably helped them out?" She asked angrily

"Humm… I can imagine" James said "It's part of being a prankster" He told Molly who turned to Remus

"You don't seem like that type of guy…" She stated irritably. James and Sirius brushed out laughing

"What?" Harry asked confused again

"Remus can look like the quiet nerd…" James begun, but was cut off by Sirius who added "That he is, but…"

"He's the evil mind behind all of our pranks" James finished

"You mean he plans it?" Frank raised an eyebrow

"We have the idea, he works it out and the four of us execute it brilliantly" Sirius grinned

"There's also the fact that he usually doesn't bother trying to think something up, but when he does…" James said as he and Sirius started laughing again. Remus, who was slightly red on the face rolled his eyes at him

"Now that you've announced my inner identity to everyone, can we go back to reading?" He said. Sirius and James patted him on the back

"That's our moony" They smirked at him, who smirked back. Molly sighed, at first she didn't know what to think about Sirius Black, but seeing how much brotherly love she saw on the three young men… how could he betray them… She sighed again… she didn't know what to think. Arthur left his wife tense beside him, he didn't why but decided that it would be the best for him to start reading again

**The repaired alarm clock rang at six o'clock the next morning. Harry turned it off quickly and dressed silently. He mustn't wake the Dursleys. He stole downstairs without turning on any of the lights. He was going to wait for the postman on the corner of Privet Drive and get the letters for number four first. **

"That's a good plan" Sirius said "Too bad it's not going to work"

"How do you know?" Alice asked

"I just do" Sirius smirked at her

**His heart hammered as he crept across the dark hall toward the front door — **

"**AAAAARRRGH!" **

**Harry leapt into the air; he'd trodden on something big and squashy on the doormat — something **_**alive**_**! **

"See, I was right" Sirius told Alice, who rolled her eyes at him

**Lights clicked on upstairs and to his horror Harry realized that the big, squashy something had been his uncle's face. Uncle Vernon had been lying at the foot of the front door in a sleeping bag, clearly making sure that Harry didn't do exactly what he'd been trying to do. He shouted at Harry for about half an hour and then told him to go and make a cup of tea. Harry shuffled miserably off into the kitchen and by the time he got back, the mail had arrived, right into Uncle Vernon's lap. Harry could see three letters addressed in green ink. **

"**I want —" he began, but Uncle Vernon was tearing the letters into pieces before his eyes. **

"That's not right" Jane hissed

**Uncle Vernon didn't go to work that day. He stayed at home and nailed up the mail slot. **

"**See," he explained to Aunt Petunia through a mouthful of nails, "if they can't **_**deliver **_**them they'll just give up." **

"That's so ridiculous" Molly said "Beside we don't even use that to deliver a letter"

"**I'm not sure that'll work, Vernon." **

"**Oh, these people's minds work in strange ways, Petunia, they're not like you and me," said Uncle Vernon, trying to knock in a nail with the piece of fruitcake Aunt Petunia had just brought him. **

"That's because we're smarter" Severus muttered

**On Friday, no less than twelve letters arrived for Harry. As they couldn't go through the mail slot they had been pushed under the door, slotted through the sides, and a few even forced through the small window in the downstairs bathroom. **

**Uncle Vernon stayed at home again. After burning all the letters, he got out a hammer and nails and boarded up the cracks around the front and back doors so no one could go out. He hummed "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" as he worked, and jumped at small noises. **

"He's officially gone nuts" Charlie declared

**On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two-dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. While Uncle Vernon made furious telephone calls to the post office **

"Not going to work" Lily said "We don't use post office"

**and the dairy trying to find someone to complain to, Aunt Petunia shredded the letters in her food processor. **

"**Who on earth wants to talk to **_**you **_**this badly?" Dudley asked Harry in amazement.**

"A lot of people do" Albus said "Did you know that I have some letter from your fans…"

"Really?" James asked as Harry groaned "I don't want fan letter, I don't want to be famous"

**On Sunday morning, Uncle Vernon sat down at the breakfast table looking tired and rather ill, but happy. **

"**No post on Sundays," he reminded them cheerfully **

"Not so fast" Sirius sang "We can send letters anytime we want"

"Really?" David asked curiously

"Yes, that's because we send our letters with owls" Arthur explained cheerfully "So we can send them anytime we want as long as we have a owl at our reach"

"That's nice" David said interested

**as he spread marmalade on his newspapers, "no damn letters today —" **

**Something came whizzing down the kitchen chimney as he spoke and caught him sharply on the back of the head. Next moment, thirty or forty letters came pelting out of the fireplace like bullets. The Dursleys ducked, but Harry leapt into the air trying to catch one — **

"**Out! OUT!" **

**Uncle Vernon seized Harry around the waist and threw him into the hall. When Aunt Petunia and Dudley had run out with their arms over their faces, Uncle Vernon slammed the door shut. They could hear the letters still streaming into the room, bouncing off the walls and floor. **

"**That does it," said Uncle Vernon, trying to speak calmly but pulling great tufts out of his mustache at the same time. "I want you all back here in five minutes ready to leave. We're going away. Just pack some clothes. No arguments!" **

"Why did that idiot have to give me more work?" Minerva sighed "He could've just accepted already"

**He looked so dangerous with half his mustache missing that no one dared argue. Ten minutes later they had wrenched their way through the boarded-up doors and were in the car, speeding toward the highway. Dudley was sniffling in the back seat; his father had hit him round the head for holding them up while he tried to pack his television, VCR, and computer in his sports bag. **

"Wow, Duddy must really be depressed" Ron said rolling his eyes at the brainless git "Daddy never dared to make him do something he didn't want to do"

**They drove. And they drove. Even Aunt Petunia didn't dare ask where they were going. Every now and then Uncle Vernon would take a sharp turn and drive in the opposite direction for a while. **

"**Shake 'em off… shake 'em off," he would mutter whenever he did this.**

"Looks like he has finally cracked" Bill said

**They didn't stop to eat or drink all day. By nightfall Dudley was howling. He'd never had such a bad day in his life. He was hungry, he'd missed five television programs he'd wanted to see, and he'd never gone so long without blowing up an alien on his computer. **

"He needs a life" Hermione said

**Uncle Vernon stopped at last outside a gloomy-looking hotel on the outskirts of a big city. Dudley and Harry shared a room with twin beds and damp, musty sheets. Dudley snored but Harry stayed awake, sitting on the windowsill, staring down at the lights of passing cars and wondering… **

**They ate stale cornflakes and cold tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast the next day. They had just finished when the owner of the hotel came over to their table. **

"'**Scuse me, but is one of you Mr. H. Potter? Only I got about an 'undred of these at the front desk." **

**She held up a letter so they could read the green ink address: **

_**Mr. H. Potter **_

_**Room 17 **_

_**Railview Hotel **_

_**Cokeworth **_

**Harry made a grab for the letter but Uncle Vernon knocked his hand out of the way. The woman stared. **

"Wow, he really is determined to keep you at Privet Drive" Lily commented and Harry shuddered at the thought of spending the rest of his life at Privet Drive.

"**I'll take them," said Uncle Vernon, standing up quickly and following her from the dining room. **

"**Wouldn't it be better just to go home, dear?" Aunt Petunia suggested timidly, hours later, but Uncle Vernon didn't seem to hear her. **

**Exactly what he was looking for, none of them knew. He drove them into the middle of a forest, got out, looked around, shook his head, got back in the car, and off they went again. The same thing happened in the middle of a plowed field, halfway across a suspension bridge, and at the top of a multilevel parking garage. **

"**Daddy's gone mad, hasn't he?" Dudley asked Aunt Petunia dully late that afternoon. **

"Took you long enough to notice" Charlie said

**Uncle Vernon had parked at the coast, locked them all inside the car, and disappeared. **

**It started to rain. Great drops beat on the roof of the car. Dudley sniveled. **

"**It's Monday," he told his mother. "The Great Humberto's on tonight. I want to stay somewhere with a **_**television**_**." **

**Monday. This reminded Harry of something. If it **_**was **_**Monday — and you could usually count on Dudley to know the days the week, because of television — then tomorrow, Tuesday, was Harry's eleventh birthday. **

"Oh, Happy birthday, Harry" Lily beamed at him

"It has already passed, Lils" James said

"Still, you're not eleven everyday" Lily huffed at him

**Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon's old socks. **

"Dudley gets thirty presents and you get Vernon's old socks?" Lily growled

**Still, you weren't eleven every day. **

"That's right" Lily beamed at Harry again. Sirius stared at her strangely and whispered to Remus "Great, now she's starting to sound bipolar"

"I heard that, Sirius" Lily glared at him, who hid behind Remus.

**Uncle Vernon was back and he was smiling. **

"Another bipolar" Sirius sighed

**He was also carrying a long, thin package and didn't answer Aunt Petunia when she asked what he'd bought. **

"**Found the perfect place!" he said. "Come on! Everyone out!" **

**It was very cold outside the car. Uncle Vernon was pointing at what looked like a large rock way out at sea. Perched on top of the rock was the most miserable little shack you could imagine. One thing was certain, there was no television in there. **

"**Storm forecast for tonight!" said Uncle Vernon gleefully, clapping his hands together. "And this gentleman's kindly agreed to lend us his boat!" **

**A toothless old man came ambling up to them, pointing, with a rather wicked grin, at an old rowboat bobbing in the iron-gray water below them. **

"**I've already got us some rations," said Uncle Vernon, "so all aboard!"**

"He's crazy" Jane said "All of that because he wants you to be miserable. When I'm done with him, he'll spend the rest of his life on jail" 

**It was freezing in the boat. Icy sea spray and rain crept down their necks and a chilly wind whipped their faces. After what seemed like hours they reached the rock, where Uncle Vernon, slipping and sliding, led the way to the broken-down house. **

**The inside was horrible; it smelled strongly of seaweed, the wind whistled through the gaps in the wooden walls, and the fireplace was damp and empty. There were only two rooms. **

**Uncle Vernon's rations turned out to be a bag of chips each and four bananas. He tried to start a fire but the empty chip bags just smoked and shriveled up. **

"**Could do with some of those letters now, eh?" he said cheerfully.**

**He was in a very good mood. Obviously he thought nobody stood a chance of reaching them here in a storm to deliver mail. **

"Don't be so 'ure 'bout tha'" Hagrid said

**Harry privately agreed, though the thought didn't cheer him up at all. **

"Don't worry, Harry" Molly said "I'm sure Hogwarts has a secret on it's sleeve"

**As night fell, the promised storm blew up around them. Spray from the high waves splattered the walls of the hut and a fierce wind rattled the filthy windows. Aunt Petunia found a few moldy blankets in the second room and made up a bed for Dudley on the moth-eaten sofa. She and Uncle Vernon went off to the lumpy bed next door, and Harry was left to find the softest bit of floor he could and to curl up under the thinnest, most ragged blanket. **

People tried not to say anything because they noticed Harry was embarrassed but still they couldn't help but let a few growls escape.

**The storm raged more and more ferociously as the night went on. Harry couldn't sleep. He shivered and turned over, trying to get comfortable, his stomach rumbling with hunger. Dudley's snores were drowned by the low rolls of thunder that started near midnight. The lighted dial of Dudley's watch, which was dangling over the edge of the sofa on his fat wrist, told Harry he'd be eleven in ten minutes' time. He lay and watched his birthday tick nearer, wondering if the Dursleys would remember at all, wondering where the letter writer was now. **

"On Hogwarts, wondering if you'd finally get the letter" Minerva told Harry

**Five minutes to go. Harry heard something creak outside. He hoped the roof wasn't going to fall in, although he might be warmer if it did. Four minutes to go. Maybe the house in Privet Drive would be so full of letters when they got back that he'd be able to steal one somehow. **

**Three minutes to go. Was that the sea, slapping hard on the rock like that? And (two minutes to go) what was that funny crunching noise? Was the rock crumbling into the sea? **

**One minute to go and he'd be eleven. Thirty seconds… twenty… ten… nine — maybe he'd wake Dudley up, just to annoy him — three… two… one… **

**BOOM. **

**The whole shack shivered and Harry sat bolt upright, staring at the door. Someone was outside, knocking to come in.**

"What? What happened?" Sirius asked

"I don't know the chapter is done" Percy said "Who reads next?"

"I will" Sirius took the book from Percy's hand

"Wow, never thought I'd see the day Sirius would want to read so badly" Remus murmured to James who nodded agreeing. Sirius gave them a 'Hahaha, Funny, guys' look and started reading

"The Keeper of the Keys" He read


	5. The Keeper of the Keys

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

Chapter 4:

The Keeper of the Keys

"**The Keeper of the Keys,"** Sirius read

**BOOM. They knocked again. Dudley jerked awake. **

"**Where's the cannon?" he said stupidly. **

"What's a cannon?" Frank asked

"A muggle weapon" Arthur said "Thought I don't know much about it…"

"A cannon is any tubular piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile." Hermione explained. The room stared at the blushing girl. Her parents chuckled 'That's so Hermione'

**There was a crash behind them and Uncle Vernon came skidding into the room. He was holding a rifle in his hands – now they knew what had been in the long, thin package he had brought with them. **

"He carries a rifle with kids near" Jane shook her head

"**Who's there?" he shouted. "I warn you — I'm armed!" **

**There was a pause. Then — **

**SMASH! **

**The door was hit with such force that it swung clean off its hinges and with a deafening crash landed flat on the floor. **

**A giant of a man was standing in the doorway. His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard, but you could make out his eyes, glinting like black beetles under all the hair.**

"Yes" James and Sirius cheered "It's you, Hagrid, isn't it?" James asked Hagrid, who nodded smiling

"Great, now you can save him" Lily beamed at Hagrid. 

**The giant squeezed his way into the hut, stooping so that his head just brushed the ceiling. He bent down, picked up the door, and fitted it easily back into its frame. The noise of the storm outside dropped a little. He turned to look at them all. **

"**Couldn't make us a cup o' tea, could yeh? It's not been an easy journey…"**

"Is it really time for that, Hagrid?" Minerva asked but she was smiling

**He strode over to the sofa where Dudley sat frozen with fear. **

"**Budge up, yeh great lump," said the stranger. **

**Dudley squeaked and ran to hide behind his mother, who was crouching, terrified, behind Uncle Vernon. **

"Cowards" Fred faked a chough

"**An' here's Harry!" said the giant. **

**Harry looked up into the fierce, wild, shadowy face and saw that the beetle eyes were crinkled in a smile. **

"**Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby," said the giant. "Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mom's eyes." Uncle Vernon made a funny rasping noise. **

"That's really true" Remus said "You look exactly like James did on your age but you have Lils's eyes"

With those words, Lily and James smiled at Harry who was beaming in happiness.

"**I demand that you leave at once, sir!" he said. "You are breaking and entering!" **

"**Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune," said the giant;**

"Yeah" Fred and George rooted "You tell him, Hagrid"

**he reached over the back of the sofa, jerked the gun out of Uncle Vernon's hands, bent it into a knot as easily as if it had been made of rubber, and threw it into a corner of the room. **

**Uncle Vernon made another funny noise, like a mouse being trodden on. **

"**Anyway — Harry," said the giant, turning his back on the Dursleys, "a very happy birthday to yeh. Got summat fer yeh here — I mighta sat on it at some point, but it'll taste all right." **

**From an inside pocket of his black overcoat he pulled a slightly squashed box. Harry opened it with trembling fingers. Inside was a large, sticky chocolate cake with **_**Happy Birthday Harry **_**written on it in green icing. **

"That's so sweet, Hagrid" Lily smiled at Hagrid, now she knew Harrry would meet someone who would treat him right.

**Harry looked up at the giant. He meant to say thank you, but the words got lost on the way to his mouth, and what he said instead was, "Who are you?"**

**The giant chuckled. **

"**True, I haven't introduced meself. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." **

**He held out an enormous hand and shook Harry's whole arm. **

"**What about that tea then, eh?" he said, rubbing his hands together. "I'd not say no ter summat stronger if yeh've got it, mind." **

**His eyes fell on the empty grate with the shriveled chip bags in it and he snorted. He bent down over the fireplace; they couldn't see what he was doing but when he drew back a second later, there was a roaring fire there. It filled the whole damp hut with flickering light and Harry felt the warmth wash over him as though he'd sunk into a hot bath. **

**The giant sat back down on the sofa, which sagged under his weight, and began taking all sorts of things out of the pockets of his coat: a copper kettle, a squashy package of sausages, a poker, a teapot, several chipped mugs, and a bottle of some amber liquid that he took a swig from before starting to make tea. **

"How can it all fit in your pockets?" David asked astonished. Hagrid chuckled "Me pocket 're bi'"

**Soon the hut was full of the sound and smell of sizzling sausage. Nobody said a thing while the giant was working, but as he slid the first six fat, juicy, slightly burnt sausages from the poker, Dudley fidgeted a little. Uncle Vernon said sharply, "Don't touch anything he gives you, Dudley." **

**The giant chuckled darkly. **

"**Yer great puddin' of a son don' need fattenin' anymore, Dursley, don' worry." **

"Yeah! Go Hagrid! Go Hagrid" Fred and George sang

**He passed the sausages to Harry, who was so hungry he had never tasted anything so wonderful, but he still couldn't take his eyes off the giant. Finally, as nobody seemed about to explain anything, he said, "I'm sorry, but I still don't really know who you are." **

**The giant took a gulp of tea and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. **

"**Call me Hagrid," he said, "everyone does. An' like I told yeh, I'm Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts — yeh'll know all about Hogwarts, o' course. **

"**Er — no," said Harry. **

"Hagrid's not going to like that" Charlie snorted

**Hagrid looked shocked. **

"**Sorry," Harry said quickly. **

"Why did you apologize?" Molly frowned "It's not your fault" Harry blushed "Usually it is" He muttered.

"_**Sorry**_**?" barked Hagrid, turning to stare at the Dursleys, who shrank back into the shadows. "It's them as should be sorry! I knew yeh weren't gettin' yer letters but I never thought yeh wouldn't even know abou' Hogwarts, fer cryin' out loud! Did yeh never wonder where yer parents learned it all?" **

"**All what?" asked Harry. **

"**ALL WHAT?" Hagrid thundered. **

"**Now wait jus' one second!" **

**He had leapt to his feet. In his anger he seemed to fill the whole hut. The Dursleys were cowering against the wall. **

"What are you going to do?" Sirius asked excitedly

"**Do you mean ter tell me," he growled at the Dursleys, "that this boy — this boy! — knows nothin' abou' — about ANYTHING?"**

**Harry thought this was going a bit far. He had been to school, after all, and his marks weren't bad. **

"**I know **_**some **_**things," he said. "I can, you know, do math and stuff." **

Everyone laughed

"I don't think he meant that, Harry" Bill said

**But Hagrid simply waved his hand and said, "About **_**our **_**world, I mean. **_**Your **_**world. **_**My **_**world. **_**Yer parents' world**_**." **

"**What world?" **

"The wizardry world"

**Hagrid looked as if he was about to explode. **

"**DURSLEY!" he boomed. **

**Uncle Vernon, who had gone very pale, whispered something that sounded like "Mimblewimble." Hagrid stared wildly at Harry. "But yeh must know about yer mom and dad," he said. "I mean, they're **_**famous**_**. You're **_**famous**_**."**

"**What? My — my mom and dad weren't famous, were they?" **

"**Yeh don' know… yeh don' know…" Hagrid ran his fingers through his hair, fixing Harry with a bewildered stare. **

"**Yeh don' know what yeh **_**are**_**?" he said finally. **

**Uncle Vernon suddenly found his voice. **

"**Stop!" he commanded. "Stop right there, sir! I forbid you to tell the boy anything!" **

"As if he could stop Hagrid from doing anything" Charlie huffed

**A braver man than Vernon Dursley would have quailed under the furious look Hagrid now gave him; when Hagrid spoke, his every syllable trembled with rage. **

"**You never told him? Never told him what was in the letter Dumbledore left fer him? I was there! I saw Dumbledore leave it, Dursley! An' you've kept it from him all these years?" **

"**Kept **_**what **_**from me?" said Harry eagerly. **

"**STOP! I FORBID YOU!" yelled Uncle Vernon in panic. **

"Again, if he could forbid Hagrid from anything" Charlie said

**Aunt Petunia gave a gasp of horror. **

"**Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh," said Hagrid. "Harry — yer a wizard." **

**There was silence inside the hut. Only the sea and the whistling wind could be heard. **

"**I'm a **_**what**_**?" gasped Harry. **

"You must have thought he was mental" Ron chuckled

"I did for a minute" Harry laughed

"**A wizard, o' course," said Hagrid, sitting back down on the sofa, which groaned and sank even lower, "an' a thumpin' good 'un, I'd say, once yeh've been trained up a bit. With a mum an' dad like yours, what else would yeh be? An' I reckon it's abou' time yeh read yer letter." **

**Harry stretched out his hand at last to take the yellowish envelope, addressed in emerald green to **_**Mr. H. Potter, The Floor, Hut-on-the-Rock, The Sea. **_**He pulled out the letter and read: **

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **_

_**Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **_

_**(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards) **_

_**Dear Mr. Potter, **_

_**We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. **_

_**Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. **_

_**Yours sincerely, **_

_**Minerva McGonagall, **_

_**Deputy Headmistress **_

**Questions exploded inside Harry's head like fireworks and he couldn't decide which to ask first. After a few minutes he stammered, "What does it mean, they await my owl?" **

"So many things to ask and you ask that" Remus chuckled

"**Gallopin' Gorgons, that reminds me," said Hagrid, clapping a hand to his forehead with enough force to knock over a cart horse, and from yet another pocket inside his overcoat he pulled an owl — a real, live, rather ruffled-looking owl **— **a long quill, and a roll of parchment. With his tongue between his teeth he scribbled a note that Harry could read upside down: **

_**Dear Professor Dumbledore, **_

_**Given Harry his letter. **_

_**Taking him to buy his things tomorrow. **_

_**Weather's horrible. Hope you're well. **_

_**Hagrid **_

**Hagrid rolled up the note, gave it to the owl, which clamped it in its beak, went to the door, and threw the owl out into the storm. Then he came back and sat down as though this was as normal as talking on the telephone. **

"For us it is normal" Arthur said

**Harry realized his mouth was open and closed it quickly. **

"**Where was I?" said Hagrid, but at that moment, Uncle Vernon, still ashen-faced but looking very angry, moved into the firelight. **

"**He's not going," he said. **

**Hagrid grunted. **

"Yeah, like a muggle could stop him" Moody said

"**I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said. **

"**A what?" said Harry, interested. **

"**A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them. An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on." **

"**We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!" **

"What I don't understand is, if they don't really like you, why do they want you to stay so much?" Jane asked

"I don't know" Harry shuddered "Maybe they enjoy torturing me"

"**You **_**knew**_**?" said Harry. "You **_**knew **_**I'm a — a wizard?" **

"**Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "**_**Knew**_**! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my dratted sister being what she was? **

**Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that — that **_**school **_**— and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. **

"Did you really do it?" Frank asked

"Yes" Lily said "Once"

"But how?" He asked "You can't use magic out of Hogwarts…"

"Muggle-borns can do something when they get home so that they can show their parents and make them see that they do learn something at Hogwarts" Lily explained

"I guess it's understandable" Frank said

**I was the only one who saw her for what she was — a freak! **

"Lily's not a freak" James growled

**But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!" **

**She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years. **

"**Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as — as —**_**abnormal **_**— and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!" **

"She's treating Harry so badly because she was jealous of you" Molly exclaimed angrily

"I can't believe her" Lily hid her face on James's chest "We were so close and now…"

**Harry had gone very white. As soon as he found his voice he said, "Blown up? You told me they died in a car crash!" **

"**CAR CRASH!" roared Hagrid, jumping up so angrily that the Dursleys scuttled back to their corner. "How could a car crash kill Lily an' James Potter? It's an outrage! A scandal! Harry Potter not knowin' his own story when every kid in our world knows his name!" **

"**But why? What happened?" Harry asked urgently. **

**The anger faded from Hagrid's face. He looked suddenly anxious. **

"**I never expected this," he said, in a low, worried voice. "I had no idea, when Dumbledore told me there might be trouble gettin' hold of yeh, how much yeh didn't know. Ah, Harry, I don' know if I'm the right person ter tell yeh — but someone's gotta — yeh can't go off ter Hogwarts not knowin'." **

**He threw a dirty look at the Dursleys. **

"**Well, it's best yeh know as much as I can tell yeh — mind, I can't tell yeh everythin', it's a great myst'ry, parts of it…" **

**He sat down, stared into the fire for a few seconds, and then said, "It begins, I suppose, with — with a person called — but it's incredible yeh don't know his name, everyone in our world knows —" **

"**Who?" **

"**Well — I don' like sayin' the name if I can help it. No one does." **

"Why?" David asked "It's just a name"

"Exactly my feelings, if I may say so, Mr. Granger" Albus smiled

"**Why not?" **

"**Gulpin' gargoyles, Harry, people are still scared. Blimey, this is difficult. See, there was this wizard who went… bad. As bad as you could go. Worse. Worse than worse. His name was…" **

**Hagrid gulped, but no words came out. **

"**Could you write it down?" Harry suggested. **

"**Nah — can't spell it. All right**

"It's v-o-l-d-e-m-o-r-t" Sirius told Hagrid, he wasn't afraid to say his name either as he knew James, Remus and Lily weren't as well because they rolled their eyes at his silliness

—_**Voldemort**_**. " **

**Hagrid shuddered. "Don' make me say it again. Anyway, this — this wizard, about twenty years ago now, started lookin' fer followers. Got 'em, too — some were afraid, some just wanted a bit o' his power, 'cause he was gettin' himself power, all right. Dark days, Harry. Didn't know who ter trust, didn't dare get friendly with strange wizards or witches… terrible things happened. He was takin' over. 'Course, some stood up to him — an' he killed 'em. Horribly. One o' the only safe places left was Hogwarts. Reckon Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was afraid of. Didn't dare try takin' the school, not jus' then, anyway. **

"**Now, yer mum an' dad were as good a witch an' wizard as I ever knew. Head boy an' girl at Hogwarts in their day! Suppose the myst'ry is why You-Know-Who never tried to get 'em on his side before… probably knew they were too close ter Dumbledore ter want anythin' ter do with the Dark Side. **

"**Maybe he thought he could persuade 'em… maybe he just wanted 'em outta the way. All anyone knows is, he turned up in the village where you was all living, on Halloween ten years ago. You was just a year old. He came ter yer house an' — an' —" **

**Hagrid suddenly pulled out a very dirty, spotted handkerchief and blew his nose with a sound like a foghorn. **

"**Sorry," he said. "But it's that sad — knew yer mum an' dad, an' nicer people yeh couldn't find — anywa… **

The mood in the room suddenly fell from gleeful to sad. No one knew what to say or what not to say…

"**You-Know-Who killed 'em. An' then — an' this is the real myst'ry of the thing — he tried to kill you, too. Wanted ter make a clean job of it, I suppose, or maybe he just liked killin' by then. But he couldn't do wondered how you got that mark on yer forehead? That was no ordinary cut. That's what yeh get when a powerful, evil curse touches yeh — took care of yer mum an' dad an' yer house, even — but it didn't work on you, an' that's why yer famous, Harry. No one ever lived after he decided ter kill 'em, no one except you, an' he'd killed some o' the best witches an' wizards of the age — the McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts **

"You mean the twins Prewetts?" Sirius asked. Molly closed her eyes so tears wouldn't fall, she missed her brothers so much "Yes" She nodded

"This sucks, they were awesome" Sirius said gloomily "I really liked them"

— **an' you was only a baby, an' you lived." **

**Something very painful was going on in Harry's mind. As Hagrid's story came to a close, he saw again the blinding flash of green light, more clearly than he had ever remembered it before — and he remembered something else, for the first time in his life: a high, cold, cruel laugh. **

With that almost all the room shuddered.

**Hagrid was watching him sadly. **

"**Took yeh from the ruined house myself, on Dumbledore's orders. Brought yeh ter this lot…." **

"**Load of old tosh," said Uncle Vernon. Harry jumped; he had almost forgotten that the Dursleys were there. Uncle Vernon certainly seemed to have got back his courage. He was glaring at Hagrid and his fists were clenched. **

"**Now, you listen here, boy," he snarled, "I accept there's something strange about you, probably nothing a good beating wouldn't have cured **

"Don't you dare touch my son, Dursley" James snarled

**---****and as for all this about your parents, well, they were weirdoes, no denying it, and the world's better off without them in my opinion **

"Shut up, you fat pig" Sirius said

— **asked for all they got, getting mixed up with these wizarding types — just what I expected, always knew they'd come to a sticky end -" **

**But at that moment, Hagrid leapt from the sofa and drew a battered pink umbrella from inside his coat. **

**Pointing this at Uncle Vernon like a sword, he said, "I'm warning you, Dursley — I'm warning you — one more word…" **

"Go Hagrid, kick his as—I mean… butt" Charlie said as he tried to ignore his mother's glare as he almost said a 'bad word'

**In danger of being speared on the end of an umbrella by a bearded giant, Uncle Vernon's courage failed again; he flattened himself against the wall and fell silent. **

"**That's better," said Hagrid, breathing heavily and sitting back down on the sofa, which this time sagged right down to the floor. **

**Harry, meanwhile, still had questions to ask, hundreds of them. **

"**But what happened to Vol-, sorry — I mean, You-Know-Who?" **

"**Good question, Harry. Disappeared. Vanished. Same night he tried ter kill you. Makes yeh even more famous. That's the biggest myst'ry, see… he was gettin' more an' more powerful — why'd he go?**

"That's a good question" Sirius muttered

"**Some say he died. Codswallop, in my opinion. Dunno if he had enough human left in him to die. **

**Some say he's still out there, bidin' his time, like, but I don' believe it. People who was on his side came back ter ours. Some of 'em came outta kinda trances. Don' reckon they could've done if he was comin' back. **

"**Most of us reckon he's still out there somewhere but lost his powers. Too weak to carry on. 'Cause somethin' about you finished him, Harry. There was somethin' goin' on that night he hadn't counted on — **_**I **_**dunno what it was, no one does — but somethin' about you stumped him, all right."**

"You must really be a powerful wizard" Jane smiled at Harry.

**Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be? He'd spent his life being clouted by Dudley, and bullied by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon; if he was really a wizard, why hadn't they been turned into warty toads every time they'd tried to lock him in his cupboard? If he'd once defeated the greatest sorcerer in the world, how come Dudley had always been able to kick him around like a football? **

"That's not how it works, Harry" Minerva said "Accidental magic only happens when you're really angry or when you're emotional disturbed enough to lose control"

"Humm… that explains a lot" Harry said thoughtful

"**Hagrid," he said quietly, "I think you must have made a mistake. I don't think I can be a wizard." **

**To his surprise, Hagrid chuckled. **

"**Not a wizard, eh? Never made things happen when you was scared or angry?" **

**Harry looked into the fire. Now he came to think about it… every odd thing that had ever made his aunt and uncle furious with him had happened when he, Harry, had been upset or angry… chased by Dudley's gang, he had somehow found himself out of their reach… dreading going to school with that ridiculous haircut, he'd managed to make it grow back… and the very last time Dudley had hit him, hadn't he got his revenge, without even realizing he was doing it? Hadn't he set a boa constrictor on him? **

"Yup, magic" Hagrid winked at Harry

**Harry looked back at Hagrid, smiling, and saw that Hagrid was positively beaming at him. **

"**See?" said Hagrid. "Harry Potter, not a wizard — you wait, you'll be right famous at Hogwarts."**

**But Uncle Vernon wasn't going to give in without a fight. **

"**Haven't I told you he's not going?" he hissed. "He's going to Stonewall High and he'll be grateful for it. I've read those letters and he needs all sorts of rubbish — spell books and wands and —" **

"**If he wants ter go, a great Muggle like you won't stop him," growled Hagrid. "Stop Lily an' James Potter's son goin' ter Hogwarts! Yer mad. His name's been down ever since he was born. He's off ter the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world. Seven years there and he won't know himself. He'll be with youngsters of his own sort, fer a change, an' he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts ever had Albus Dumbled—" **

"**I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" yelled Uncle Vernon. **

"Uh-uho"

**But he had finally gone too far. Hagrid seized his umbrella and whirled it over his head, "NEVER —" he thundered, "— INSULT — ALBUS — DUMBLEDORE — IN — FRONT — OF — ME!" He brought the umbrella swishing down through the air to point at Dudley — there was a flash of violet light, a sound like a firecracker, a sharp squeal, and the next second, Dudley was dancing on the spot with his hands clasped over his fat bottom, howling in pain. When he turned his back on them, Harry saw a curly pig's tail poking through a hole in his trousers. **

The room was filled with laughter as Sirius finished reading this.

"Hagrid, you are amazing" James high-fived him

"I must say I'm honoured you believe me, Hagrid" Albus smiled at Hagrid who was blushing

"I hope there's a photo of that on the album" Tonks said. It took them several minutes to calm down and start reading again.

**Uncle Vernon roared. Pulling Aunt Petunia and Dudley into the other room, he cast one last terrified look at Hagrid and slammed the door behind them. **

**Hagrid looked down at his umbrella and stroked his beard. **

"**Shouldn'ta lost me temper," he said ruefully, "but it didn't work anyway. Meant ter turn him into a pig, but I suppose he was so much like a pig anyway there wasn't much left ter do." **

With they started laughing again

**He cast a sideways look at Harry under his bushy eyebrows. **

"**Be grateful if yeh didn't mention that ter anyone at Hogwarts," he said. "I'm — er — not supposed ter do magic, strictly speakin'. I was allowed ter do a bit ter follow yeh an' get yer letters to yeh an' stuff — one o' the reasons I was so keen ter take on the job." **

"**Why aren't you supposed to do magic?" asked Harry. **

"**Oh, well — I was at Hogwarts meself but I — er — got expelled, ter tell yeh the truth. In me third year. They snapped me wand in half an' everything. But Dumbledore let me stay on as gamekeeper. Great man, Dumbledore." **

"**Why were you expelled?" **

"Harry" Lily scolded

"**It's gettin' late and we've got lots ter do tomorrow," said Hagrid loudly. "Gotta get up ter town, get all yer books an' that." **

**He took off his thick black coat and threw it to Harry. **

"**You can kip under that," he said. "Don' mind if it wriggles a bit, I think I still got a couple o' doormice in one o' the pockets."**

"It's the end" Sirius said

"I want to read next" James said excitedly

"Here you are, prongs" Sirius handed him the book. But James's smile fell of his face as he read the chapter's title 'Diagon Alley'. He was the one suppose to take Harry to Diagon Alley. He'd buy Harry a broomstick, go with him to get his wand and buy him prank material behind Lily's back…

"Oi, Earth to Prongs" Sirius exclaimed waving his hand on James's face

"Oh, sorry, the chapter is called 'Diagon Alley'" He said


	6. Diagon Alley

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

Chapter 6:

Diagon Alley

"**Diagon Alley,"** James repeated

**Harry woke early the next morning. Although he could tell it was daylight, he kept his eyes shut tight. **

_**It was a dream, **_**he told himself firmly. **_**I dreamed a giant called Hagrid came to tell me I was going to a school for wizards. When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard. **_

"I hope not" Lily said

**There was suddenly a loud tapping noise. **

_**And there's Aunt Petunia knocking on the door**_**, Harry thought, his heart sinking.**

"No, it's not" Hagrid said, happy to have taken Harry away from the muggles

**But he still didn't open his eyes. It had been such a good dream.**

**Tap. Tap. Tap. **

"**All right," Harry mumbled, "I'm getting up." **

**He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him. The hut was full of sunlight, the storm was over, Hagrid himself was asleep on the collapsed sofa, and there was an owl rapping its claw on the window, a newspaper held in its beak. Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him. **

Ron and Sirius snorted "A balloon…" Lily and Molly stared at them and shook their heads as Molly thought unhappily _Please, don't tell me that Ron will become a prankster as well…_

**He went straight to the window and jerked it open. **

**The owl swooped in and dropped the newspaper on top of Hagrid, who didn't wake up. The owl then fluttered onto the floor and began to attack Hagrid's coat. **

"**Don't do that." **

**Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat. **

"It's not gonna work" Sirius said "Those owls are really annoying they can't wait for their money… so impatient"

"**Hagrid!" said Harry loudly. "There's an owl —" **

"**Pay him," Hagrid grunted into the sofa. **

"**What?" **

"He doesn't know about it" Lily told Hagrid "You have to explain it"

" 'orry, I wa' still half asleep" Hagrid told her

"**He wants payin' fer deliverin' the paper. Look in the pockets." **

**Hagrid's coat seemed to be made of nothing **_**but **_**pockets — bunches of keys, slug pellets, balls of string, peppermint humbugs, teabags… finally, Harry pulled out a handful of strange-looking coins. **

"**Give him five Knuts," said Hagrid sleepily. **

"**Knuts?" **

"**The little bronze ones." **

**Harry counted out five little bronze coins, and the owl held out his leg so Harry could put the money into a small leather pouch tied to it. Then he flew off through the open window. **

**Hagrid yawned loudly, sat up, and stretched. **

"**Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school." **

"Cool, I love going to Diagon Alley" Sirius said "It's one of the best places to buy prank material"

**Harry was turning over the wizard coins and looking at them. He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture. **

"**Um — Hagrid?" **

"**Mm?" said Hagrid, who was pulling on his huge boots. **

"**I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic." **

"Don't worry, Harry" James said "I'm sure we left you something"

"**Don't worry about that," said Hagrid, standing up and scratching his head. "D'yeh think yer parents didn't leave yeh anything?" **

"**But if their house was destroyed —" **

"**They didn' keep their gold in the house, boy! Nah, first stop fer us is Gringotts. Wizards' bank. Have a sausage, they're not bad cold — an' I wouldn' say no teh a bit o' yer birthday cake, neither." **

"**Wizards have **_**banks**_**?" **

"**Just the one. Gringotts. Run by goblins." **

"Why those… goblins work on the bank, anyway?" David asked

"It's a long story…" Bill started "The goblins and wizard have always had issues with each other because of, actually because of a lot of things, but the two main reasons are: 1- Goblins resent the fact that wizards were able to create wands to help them to increase their magical powers but didn't want to share it with them; and 2- A lot of wizards have started fights with the goblins, because… well, you see. Goblins think differently, they believe that when they create something, automatically makes it theirs."

"But that's not a bad thing…" David started

"Yes, but the problem is that, they sell their things and still believe it's theirs" Bill explained

David looked at him confused "But if they sell it, it's not their anymore…"

"Exactly, but the globins didn't think so, they believe that when they sell stuff, they just borrow it, and when the buyer dies, it should be returned to a globin" Bill said "Well, you can see hoe much confusion it caused. And with that goblins also started claiming that wizards teal their things. It took them some centuries to warm up to the wizards, and then they decided to give this whole thing a break. Well, to short it up. With this break the globins started working at the 'new' wizardry bank and well, they still aren't very found of wizards but they try to act diplomatic"

"That's really interesting" David said "You seem to know a lot about that"

Bill laughed "That's because I work at Gringotts"

"But I thought it was run by globins" David said confused

"It is, but I work as a cursebreaker" Bill said "It's in the security..."

"That's interesting…" David started but Sirius interrupted them

"Ok, now that 'History of Magic' class is done, shall we start reading again?" He said. David blushed.

"Of course, sorry"

**Harry dropped the bit of sausage he was holding. **

"_**Goblins**_**?" **

"**Yeah — so yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it, I'll tell yeh that. Never mess with goblins, Harry. **

"That's a good advice" Bill said

**Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts. As a matter o' fact, I gotta visit Gringotts anyway. Fer Dumbledore. Hogwarts business." Hagrid drew himself up proudly. "He usually gets me ter do important stuff fer him. Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see." **

"**Got everythin'? Come on, then." Harry followed Hagrid out onto the rock. The sky was quite clear now and the sea gleamed in the sunlight. The boat Uncle Vernon had hired was still there, with a lot of water in the bottom after the storm. **

"**How did you get here?" Harry asked, looking around for another boat. **

"**Flew," said Hagrid. **

"Flew?" Jane asked "Is that even possible?"

"Yes" James said "You can fly on a broomstick…"

"But… isn't dangerous?" She asked unsure, she didn't want Hermione to do something dangerous…

"No, you just have to practise"

"_**Flew**_**?" **

"**Yeah — but we'll go back in this. Not s'pposed ter use magic now I've got yeh." **

**They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying. **

"**Seems a shame ter row, though," said Hagrid, giving Harry another of his sideways looks. "If I was ter — er — speed things up a bit, would yeh mind not mentionin' it at Hogwarts?" **

Hagrid blushed nervously at that, but it didn't look as if he'd get in trouble since Albus and Minerva were smiling slightly and Severus was unchanged in his corner.

"**Of course not," said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat, and they sped off toward land. **

"**Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?" Harry asked. **

Bill opened his mouth to say something, but James started reading before a word could leave his mouth. Bill pouted jokily and James smirked.

"**Spells — enchantments," said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. "They say there's dragons guardin' the high security vaults. **

David couldn't help but ask "Is this true?"

Bill grinned at him "I'm sorry but I can't reveal this information"

**And then yeh gotta find yer way — Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat." **

**Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the **_**Daily Prophet**_**. Harry had learned from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he'd never had so many questions in his life. **

"**Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page. **

"**There's a Ministry of Magic?" Harry asked, before he could stop himself. **

"Really? that's interesting" Jane said, she was finding this world much more interesting than she first judged and she was glad that she'd be able to know more about it. The idea of her baby girl going to a completely unknown work didn't look much appealing to her.

"'**Course," said Hagrid. "They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o' course, but he'd never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice." **

"**But what does a Ministry of Magic **_**do**_**?" **

"**Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country." **

"**Why?" **

"_**Why? **_**Blimey, Harry, everyone'd be wantin' magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we're best left alone." **

"That is actually true" Lily said "If muggles knew about magic they'd want to control it, and it would result in World War III…"

"Or Muggle extermination" Alice said "Because there's no doubt who'd win"

With that Molly, Arthur, Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Alice, Frank, Augusta and Minerva shuddered all thinking the same thing _'This sounds like something Death Eaters would like' _

**At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbor wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper, and they clambered up the stone steps onto the street. **

**Passersby stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn't blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, "See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?" **

Jane, David, Hermione and Lily chuckled at that.

"**Hagrid," said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, "did you say there are **_**dragons **_**at Gringotts?" **

"**Well, so they say," said Hagrid. "Crikey, I'd like a dragon." **

The women in the room, expect for Tonks, looked at Hagrid as if he had grown a second head.

"So there are dragons!" David said

"I thought you knew that" Percy said confused

"I thought he was just kidding…" David explained "So there are any dragons in England?"

"Not many" Charlie said "There are some wild ones but they're really rare and difficult to find"

"Let me guess" David joked "You work with the dragons on the bank…"

Charlie laughed "Almost, I work with them in Romania, I sort of train them and study them"

"Wouldn't it be considered a dangerous job?" Jane asked.

"At first yeah, but after a while you get the hang of it" Charlie said "With time you discover which types of dragon you can mess you with and which type you better stay away from"

He grinned as he lifted the sleeve of his robes and showed her the burns all over his arm. Jane gasped putting her hands on her mouth, along with Lily, Minerva and Alice. Augusta looked at him admiringly. Molly looked away, he hated her son's job choice but what could she do? He was an adult now, she couldn't tell him what to do. Arthur looked at his wife and knew what she was thinking, as he was thinking something similar but he knew that his had to do what he had to do.

The other guys on other hand were looking at him jealously, they wanted to fight a dragon too.

"Cool" Neville said, but as his mother glared at him, he added "But dangerous, really really dangerous and stupid. Please Mr. Potter, can you start reading again" He said quickly for some reason his mother's glare was worst than his grandmothers. And it wasn't as if he'd really fight something so dangerous like a dragon. He wouldn't know how…

"**You'd **_**like **_**one?" **

"**Wanted one ever since I was a kid — here we go." **

**They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes' time. Hagrid, who didn't understand "Muggle money," as he called it, gave the bills to Harry so he could buy their tickets.**

**People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent. **

Everyone snorted at the image.

"**Still got yer letter, Harry?" he asked as he counted stitches. **

**Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket. **

"**Good," said Hagrid. "There's a list there of everything yeh need." **

**Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read: **

_**HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY **_

_**UNIFORM **_

_**First-year students will require: **_

_**1. Three sets of plain work robes (black) **_

_**2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear **_

_**3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar) **_

_**4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings) **_

_**Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags **_

_**COURSE BOOKS **_

_**All students should have a copy of each of the following: **_

_**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)by Miranda Goshawk **_

_**A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot **_

_**Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling **_

_**A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch **_

_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore **_

_**Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger **_

_**Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander **_

_**The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble **_

_**OTHER EQUIPMENT **_

_**1 wand **_

_**1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2) **_

_**1 set of glass or crystal phials **_

_**1 telescope set **_

_**1 brass scales **_

_**Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad **_

"What about dogs?" Sirius asked

"Excuse me?" Albus said confused

"We can have an owl, a cat and a toad but what about dogs?" Sirius said

"Humm… that's an interesting question, Mr. Black" Albus said "I believe it has always been like that, only can have owls, cats, rats and toads…"

"Then why rats isn't on the list?" Tonks asked

Minerva blushed "I might have forgotten it…"

"I can't blame you, I hate rats" Jane said sympathetic

"That still doesn't answer my question…" Sirius said "What's up with this prejudice against dogs?" He huffed angrily

"I guess it's understandable" Jane said. Sirius stared at her "Why?"

"Look, cats, rats, toads and owls are easy to take care of. Cats do their necessities on a sand box, so all you have to do is change it, they don't have to be washed often because they don't like too. Toads and rats are actually boring, in my opinion of course, because all you have to do is feed it and keep in safely on its cage. And I believe Hogwarts has a special place for owls and since they hunt their own food, it wouldn't be a problem. Dogs on other hand can be a lot more complicated, they have to be washed often, they have to eat a specific food, they do their necessities anywhere, and they can't be locked up all day because it can lead to depression. I agree with you, I like dogs better myself. But it would take a lot more work" She explained in one breath, everyone stared at her.

"Yes, but that would teach them more responsibility" Sirius argued, still half-shocked with her speech.

"I suppose you have a point" She admitted, Sirius smiled smugly _'Dogs are the best'_

"Ok, carrying on" James said as he started to read again.

_**PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS **_

"**Can we buy all this in London?" Harry wondered aloud. **

"**If yeh know where to go," said Hagrid. **

**Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground, and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the trains too slow. **

"**I don't know how the Muggles manage without magic," he said as they climbed a broken-down escalator that led up to a bustling road lined with shops. **

**Hagrid was so huge that he parted the crowd easily; all Harry had to do was keep close behind him. They passed book shops and music stores, hamburger restaurants and cinemas, but nowhere that looked as if it could sell you a magic wand. This was just an ordinary street full of ordinary people. Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks? **

"Of course there are" Fred grinned

**Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?**

"Nah, they wouldn't joke with something like that" Lily

"Thought, it is quite hard to believe" Hermione said "I had a hard time with it as well"

**If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humor, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him. **

"Thanks, Harry" Hagrid grinned at him

"**This is it," said Hagrid, coming to a halt, "the Leaky Cauldron. It's a famous place." **

**It was a tiny, grubby-looking pub. If Hagrid hadn't pointed it out, Harry wouldn't have noticed it was there. The people hurrying by didn't glance at it. Their eyes slid from the big book shop on one side to the record shop on the other as if they couldn't see the Leaky Cauldron at all. In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it. **

"It's true actually" Remus said "It has muggle repealing charms like most wizardry places."

"It's a good thing, in fact" Arthur said "Imagine what would happen if a muggle walked into Leaky Cauldron…"

Some people snorted at the thought "It would be quite funny, thought" Frank said

"One thing, if muggles can't see it, why can we?" David asked

"Oh, that's because you have a witch daughter" Albus said "Years and Years ago, a Hogwarts headmaster figured that muggle-borns's parents were insecure about their children attending Hogwarts and the fact that they couldn't even see where their children were buying school material wasn't helping at all. So he talked it out with the Ministry and talked it out so they could work out a charm that would permit parents of muggle-born wizards and witches to see Diagon Alley"

"So we can only see Diagon Alley?" Jane asked

"There might have a few other places in England but the most important are Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. But I'm afraid that since Hogsmeade is the only all-wizarding village in Britain, you won't be able to see it" Albus explained

"What about Hogwarts?" Percy asked

"Thy can't see Hogwarts as well, it would be possible, but a lot of things could go wrong and the damage could be colossal" Minerva said

**Before he could mention this, Hagrid had steered him inside. **

**For a famous place, it was very dark and shabby. A few old women were sitting in a corner, drinking tiny glasses of sherry. One of them was smoking a long pipe. A little man in a top hat was talking to the old bartender, who was quite bald and looked like a toothless walnut. The low buzz of chatter stopped when they walked in. Everyone seemed to know Hagrid; they waved and smiled at him, and the bartender reached for a glass, saying, "The usual, Hagrid?" **

"**Can't, Tom, I'm on Hogwarts business," said Hagrid, clapping his great hand on Harry's shoulder and making Harry's knees buckle. **

"**Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be —?" **

"Ah, sweet fame" James grinned as Lily rolled her eyes.

**The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent. **

"**Bless my soul," whispered the old bartender, "Harry Potter… what an honor." **

**He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed toward Harry and seized his hand, tears in his eyes. **

"**Welcome back, Mr. Potter, welcome back." **

"Wow, isn't a bit too much?" Sirius asked

"No, Harry really is famous" Augusta said

**Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. The old woman with the pipe was puffing on it without realizing it had gone out. Hagrid was beaming. **

**Then there was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, Harry found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.**

"No kidding" Sirius said

"**Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last." **

"**So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud." **

"**Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter." **

"**Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle." **

"**I've seen you before!" said Harry, as Dedalus Diggle's top hat fell off in his excitement. "You bowed to me once in a shop." **

"**He remembers!" cried Dedalus Diggle, looking around at everyone. "Did you hear that? He remembers me!" **

"Great, give the guy a heart attack" Ron teased Harry.

**Harry shook hands again and again — Doris Crockford kept coming back for more. **

**A pale young man made his way forward, very nervously. One of his eyes was twitching. **

"**Professor Quirrell!" said Hagrid. "Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts." **

"Quirrell, that Slytherin a few years older than us?" Frank asked

"Yes" Minerva said

"**P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you." **

"What happened to him?" Alice asked

"Some say he had trouble with vampires" Hagrid said

"Don't tell me vampires exist too" Jane said

"Yes, but I don't think it fits the muggle description" Lily said

"And what is the muggle description?" Ron raised an eyebrow

"Actually, it is always changing" Jane said "but most of the times they're described as dark creatures that can only come out at night and that usually are inhumanly beautiful and charming. Most of the times vampires are men that like to seduce beautiful innocent young women so that they can bite them and turn them into vampires as well…"

Ron stared at her as his jaw fell, the tips of his ears turned red and he mumbled "Shouldn't have asked" And that, of course, caused most of the room to laugh.

"**What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?" **

"**D-Defense Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it. **

"**N-not that you n-need it, eh, P-P-Potter?" He laughed nervously. "You'll be g-getting all your equipment, I suppose? I've g-got to p-pick up a new b-book on vampires, m-myself." He looked terrified at the very thought. **

"Wow, must have been bad" Sirius said

**But the others wouldn't let Professor Quirrell keep Harry to himself. It took almost ten minutes to get away from them all. At last, Hagrid managed to make himself heard over the babble. **

"**Must get on — lots ter buy. Come on, Harry." **

**Doris Crockford shook Harry's hand one last time, and Hagrid led them through the bar and out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and a few weeds. **

**Hagrid grinned at Harry. **

"**Told yeh, didn't I? Told yeh you was famous. Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'." **

"I would be too" Frank said "Poor guy"

"**Is he always that nervous?" **

"**Oh, yeah. Poor bloke. Brilliant mind. He was fine while he was studyin' outta books but then he took a year off ter get some firsthand experience… They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since. Scared of the students, scared of his own subject — now, where's me umbrella?" **

**Vampires? Hags? Harry's head was swimming. Hagrid, meanwhile, was counting bricks in the wall above the trash can. **

"**Three up… two across…" he muttered. "Right, stand back, Harry." **

**He tapped the wall three times with the point of his umbrella. **

**The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight. **

"**Welcome," said Hagrid, "to Diagon Alley." **

"I love Diagon Alley" Lily said remembering the first time she went there.

**He grinned at Harry's amazement. They stepped through the archway. Harry looked quickly over his shoulder and saw the archway shrink instantly back into solid wall. **

**The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons — All Sizes — Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver — Self-Stirring — Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them. **

"**Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, "but we gotta get yer money first." **

**Harry wished he had about eight more eyes. He turned his head in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping. A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad…"**

**A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium — Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it. "Look," Harry heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand — fastest ever —" **

"Buy it, buy it" James said without thinking

"First years can't have a broom, James" Lily sighed exasperated at James's disappointed face

**There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon… **

"**Gringotts," said Hagrid. **

**They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was — **

"**Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Harry noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them: **

_**Enter, stranger, but take heed **_

_**Of what awaits the sin of greed, **_

_**For those who take, but do not earn, **_

_**Must pay most dearly in their turn. **_

_**So if you seek beneath our floors **_

_**A treasure that was never yours, **_

_**Thief, you have been warned, beware **_

_**Of finding more than treasure there. **_

"Wow, you weren't joking when you said not to mess with them" David told Bill, who nodded.

"**Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.**

**A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid and Harry made for the counter. **

"**Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe." **

"**You have his key, sir?" **

"**Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals. **

"**Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key. **

**The goblin looked at it closely. **

"**That seems to be in order." **

"**An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."**

"Ok, Hagrid. I think you need some lessons" Sirius said. Hagrid started at him

"Uh?"

"Lesson number one: If you want to hide something from them, don't be obvious, or they'll find out" Remus said

"Second: You-know-what, you-know-where, or anything like that can only be used when they know it. Or believe you'll get in trouble" Sirius added

"Hey, you're making me sound noisy" James protested, his friend looked at each other before saying together "You are noisy" James huffed and started reading before they got the change to say anything else

**The goblin read the letter carefully. **

"**Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"**

**Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he and Harry followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall. **

"**What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked. **

"See, knew he'd want to know what it is"

"**Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that." **

Remus shook his head "You just made things worst"

**Griphook held the door open for them. Harry, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in — Hagrid with some difficulty — and were off. **

**At first they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way, because Griphook wasn't steering. **

"It's called magic" Tonks joked

**Harry's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but he kept them wide open. Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late**

"Don't even try" Bill chuckled

— **they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor. **

"**I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"**

"You're in one of the most amazing places in the world and you ask about rocks" Sirius shook his head in disbelief

"**Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."**

The room snorted at Hagrid's behaviour.

**He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling. **

"Hate those stupid carts" Hagrid grunted

**Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts. **

"I knew I'd leave you something" James said

"**All yours," smiled Hagrid. **

**All Harry's — it was incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from him faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to him, buried deep under London. Hagrid helped Harry pile some of it into a bag. **

"**The gold ones are Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough. Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." He turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?" **

"One speed only" Bill said and after seeing the look on Hagrid's face he added "If you think the ones in England are fast, don't even try to use one in Egypt, they're like ten times faster"

"You work in Egypt?" David asked

"Yup"

"**One speed only," said Griphook. **

**They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled round tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.**

**Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. **

"**Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. **

"**If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there," said Griphook. **

"Wow, that's cool" Neville said

"**How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked. **

"**About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.**

"He seems rather confident" Hermione noted

"He can be, no one will ever be able to rob Gringotts" Bill said

**Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least — but at first he thought it was empty. Then he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. **

**Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Harry longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask. **

Albus winked at Hagrid, he had done a good job, although, he'd have preferred that Harry wouldn't notice so much.

"**Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid. **

**One wild cart ride later they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Harry didn't know where to run first now that he had a bag full of money. He didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than he'd had in his whole life — more money than even Dudley had ever had. **

James grinned, he liked that his son could at least buy good things in the wizardry world;

"**Might as well get yer uniform," said Hagrid, nodding toward Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry entered Madam Malkin's shop alone, feeling nervous. **

**Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. **

"**Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak. "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."**

**In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. **

"Ugh, by the description sounds like a Malfoy to me" James said

**Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length. **

"**Hello," said the boy, "Hogwarts, too?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. **

"**My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow." **

"What a spoiled boy, Harry don't be friends with him" Lily said "Sounds like something you should avoid"

**Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley. **

"**Have **_**you **_**got your own broom?" the boy went on. **

"**No," said Harry. **

"**Play Quidditch at all?" **

"**No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.**

"You don't know what's Quidditch?!" Many of the males in the room exclaimed

"Humm… not much" Harry admitted, he received a brief explanation from Hagrid, but he still didn't know much about it.

"Ok, you can explain it to him later, I want to finish this chapter before lunch" Lily said before they could start babbling.

"_**I **_**do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know what house you'll be in yet?" **

"**No," said Harry, feeling more stupid by the minute. **

"**Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" **

"Don't worry, you'll be in Gryffindor" James said and Tonks protested "There's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff"

"**Mmm," said Harry, wishing he could say something a bit more interesting. **

"**I say, look at that man!" said the boy suddenly, nodding toward the front window. Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice creams to show he couldn't come in. **

"**That's Hagrid," said Harry, pleased to know something the boy didn't. "He works at Hogwarts." **

"**Oh," said the boy, "I've heard of him. He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"**

"**He's the gamekeeper," said Harry. He was liking the boy less and less every second. **

"Me too, me too" Sirius said, as he mentally hoped that Narcissa got out of marrying the Malfoy git because he was sure that boy is Lucius's son.

"**Yes, exactly. I heard he's a sort of **_**savage **_**— lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed." **

"Hagrid's awesome, you git" Many people protested as Hagrid blushed

"**I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly. **

"You tell him, Harry" Fred and George cheered.

"_**Do **_**you?" said the boy, with a slight sneer. "Why is he with you? Where are your parents?" **

"**They're dead," said Harry shortly. He didn't feel much like going into the matter with this boy. **

"**Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all. "But they were **_**our **_**kind, weren't they?" **

"That's what he's worried about?!" Jane said indignantly

"**They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean." **

"**I really don't think they should let the other sort in, do you? They're just not the same, they've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts until they get the letter, imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families. What's your surname, anyway?" **

"Git"

**But before Harry could answer, Madam Malkin said, "That's you done, my dear," and Harry, not sorry for an excuse to stop talking to the boy, hopped down from the footstool. **

"**Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy. **

**Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts). **

"**What's up?" said Hagrid. **

"**Nothing," Harry lied. **

**They stopped to buy parchment and quills. Harry cheered up a bit when he found a bottle of ink that changed color as you wrote. When they had left the shop, he said, "Hagrid, what's Quidditch?" **

James looked excited

"**Blimey, Harry, I keep forgettin' how little yeh know — not knowin' about Quidditch!" **

"**Don't make me feel worse," said Harry. He told Hagrid about the pale boy in Madam Malkin's. **

"— **and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't even be allowed in —" **

"**Yer not **_**from **_**a Muggle family. If he'd known who yeh **_**were **_**— he's grown up knowin' yer name if his parents are wizardin' folk. You saw what everyone in the Leaky Cauldron was like when they saw yeh. Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!" **

"Thanks Hagrid" Lily beamed at him.

"**So what **_**is **_**Quidditch?" **

"**It's our sport. Wizard sport. It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world — everyone follows Quidditch — played up in the air on broomsticks and there's four balls — sorta hard ter explain the rules." **

"What?!" James exclaimed "Hagrid you have to tell him more—" He started but Lily hit him on the head

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"Being a prat"

"**And what are Slytherin and Hufflepuff?" **

"**School houses. There's four. Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —" **

Tonks huffed "Am I the only Hufflepuff here?"

"We still don't know the kids houses" Lily pointed out

"**I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily. **

"**Better Hufflepuff than Slytherin," said Hagrid darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know-Who was one."**

"**Vol-, sorry —You-Know-Who was at Hogwarts?" **

"**Years an' years ago," said Hagrid. **

**They bought Harry's school books in a shop called Flourish and Blotts where the shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather; books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk; books full of peculiar symbols and a few books with nothing in them at all. Even Dudley, who never read anything, would have been wild to get his hands on some of these. Hagrid almost had to drag Harry away from **_**Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) **_**by Professor Vindictus Viridian. **

"**I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley." **

The Marauders laughed

"That's my boy" James ruffled Harry's already messed hair.

"Oh, dear god" Lily sighed

"**I'm not sayin' that's not a good idea, but yer not ter use magic in the Muggle world except in very special circumstances," said Hagrid. "An' anyway, yeh couldn' work any of them curses yet, yeh'll need a lot more study before yeh get ter that level." **

**Hagrid wouldn't let Harry buy a solid gold cauldron, either ("It says pewter on yer list"), but they got a nice set of scales for weighing potion ingredients and a collapsible brass telescope. Then they visited the Apothecary, which was fascinating enough to make up for its horrible smell, a mixture of bad eggs and rotted cabbages. Barrels of slimy stuff stood on the floor; jars of herbs, dried roots, and bright powders lined the walls; bundles of feathers, strings of fangs, and snarled claws hung from the ceiling. While Hagrid asked the man behind the counter for a supply of some basic potion ingredients for Harry, Harry himself examined silver unicorn horns at twenty-one Galleons each and minuscule, glittery-black beetle eyes (five Knuts a scoop). **

**Outside the Apothecary, Hagrid checked Harry's list again. **

"**Just yer wand left — A yeah, an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present." **

**Harry felt himself go red. **

"**You don't have to —" **

"**I know I don't have to. Tell yeh what, I'll get yer animal. Not a toad, toads went outta fashion years ago, yeh'd be laughed at**

Neville blushed at that.

— **an' I don' like cats, they make me sneeze. I'll get yer an owl. All the kids want owls, they're dead useful, carry yer mail an' everythin'." **

"A owl is useful" Lily said "Thanks Hagrid"

"No problems"

**Twenty minutes later, they left Eeylops Owl Emporium, which had been dark and full of rustling and flickering, jewel-bright eyes. Harry now carried a large cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, fast asleep with her head under her wing. He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell. **

"**Don' mention it," said Hagrid gruffly. "Don' expect you've had a lotta presents from them Dursleys. Just Ollivanders left now — only place fer wands, Ollivanders, and yeh gotta have the best wand." **

**A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to. **

"It really is cool" Ron agreed.

**The last shop was narrow and shabby. Peeling gold letters over the door read Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C. A single wand lay on a faded purple cushion in the dusty window. **

**A tinkling bell rang somewhere in the depths of the shop as they stepped inside. It was a tiny place, empty except for a single, spindly chair that Hagrid sat on to wait. Harry felt strangely as though he had entered a very strict library; he swallowed a lot of new questions that had just occurred to him and looked instead at the thousands of narrow boxes piled neatly right up to the ceiling. For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic. **

"**Good afternoon," said a soft voice. Harry jumped. Hagrid must have jumped, too, because there was a loud crunching noise and he got quickly off the spindly chair. **

**An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shining like moons through the gloom of the shop. **

"He really is one of a kind" Augusta chuckled

"**Hello," said Harry awkwardly. **

"**Ah yes," said the man. "Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon. Harry Potter." It wasn't a question. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work." **

"Wow" Lily said amazed "He remembers…"

**Mr. Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Harry wished he would blink. Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy. **

"**Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it — it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course." **

"You know that's a bit creepy" James said

**Mr. Ollivander had come so close that he and Harry were almost nose to nose. Harry could see himself reflected in those misty eyes. **

"**And that's where…" **

**Mr. Ollivander touched the lightning scar on Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. **

"**I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," he said softly. "Thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands… well, if I'd known what that wand was going out into the world to do…" **

**He shook his head and then, to Harry's relief, spotted Hagrid. **

"**Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again… Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" **

"**It was, sir, yes," said Hagrid. **

"**Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" said Mr. Ollivander, suddenly stern. **

Hagrid shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but no one noticed

"**Er — yes, they did, yes," said Hagrid, shuffling his feet. "I've still got the pieces, though," he added brightly. **

"**But you don't **_**use **_**them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply. **

"**Oh, no, sir," said Hagrid quickly. Harry noticed he gripped his pink umbrella very tightly as he spoke. **

"**Hmmm," said Mr. Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. "Well, now — Mr. Potter. Let me see." He pulled a long tape measure with silver markings out of his pocket. "Which is your wand arm?" **

"**Er — well, I'm right-handed," said Harry. **

"**Hold out your arm. That's it." He measured Harry from shoulder to finger, then wrist to elbow, shoulder to floor, knee to armpit and round his head. As he measured, he said, "Every Ollivander wand has a core of a powerful magical substance, Mr. Potter. We use unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, and the heartstrings of dragons. No two Ollivander wands are the same, just as no two unicorns, dragons, or phoenixes are quite the same. And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand." **

"This must be interesting" David said amazed

**Harry suddenly realized that the tape measure, which was measuring between his nostrils, was doing this on its own. Mr. Ollivander was flitting around the shelves, taking down boxes. **

"**That will do," he said, and the tape measure crumpled into a heap on the floor. "Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Nice and flexible. just take it and give it a wave." **

**Harry took the wand and (feeling foolish) waved it around a bit, **

"It's not the one then" Remus said

**but Mr. Ollivander snatched it out of his hand almost at once. **

"**Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches. Quite whippy. Try —" **

**Harry tried — but he had hardly raised the wand when it, too, was snatched back by Mr. Ollivander. **

"**No, no — here, ebony and unicorn hair, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, go on, try it out." **

**Harry tried. And tried. He had no idea what Mr. Ollivander was waiting for. The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr. Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become. **

"**Tricky customer, eh? Not to worry, we'll find the perfect match here somewhere — I wonder, now — yes, why not — unusual combination — holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple." **

"Oh, this must be a good wand" Albus said mysteriously

**Harry took the wand. He felt a sudden warmth in his fingers. **

"That's it" Lily beamed at Harry "That's your wand"

**He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr. Ollivander cried, "Oh, bravo! Yes, indeed, oh, very good. Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…" **

"What?!" James asked

**He put Harry's wand back into its box and wrapped it in brown paper, still muttering, "Curious… curious…" **

"**Sorry," said Harry, "but **_**what's **_**curious?" **

**Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. **

"**I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather — just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar." **

Lily shuddered at that, James hugged her close.

"Interesting" Albus said

**Harry swallowed. **

"**Yes, thirteen-and-a-half inches. Yew. Curious indeed how these things happen. The wand chooses the wizard, remember… I think we must expect great things from you, Mr. Potter… After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great." **

"Does he have to sound so admiring?" Alice shuddered

**Harry shivered. He wasn't sure he liked Mr. Ollivander too much. He paid seven gold Galleons for his wand, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop. **

**The late afternoon sun hung low in the sky as Harry and Hagrid made their way back down Diagon Alley, back through the wall, back through the Leaky Cauldron, now empty. Harry didn't speak at all as they walked down the road; he didn't even notice how much people were gawking at them on the Underground, laden as they were with all their funny-shaped packages, with the snowy owl asleep in its cage on Harry's lap. Up another escalator, out into Paddington station; Harry only realized where they were when Hagrid tapped him on the shoulder. **

"**Got time fer a bite to eat before yer train leaves," he said. **

**He bought Harry a hamburger and they sat down on plastic seats to eat them. Harry kept looking around. Everything looked so strange, somehow. **

"**You all right, Harry? Yer very quiet," said Hagrid. **

"Well, it was hard to take in it all" Harry said

**Harry wasn't sure he could explain. He'd just had the best birthday of his life — and yet — he chewed his hamburger, trying to find the words. **

"**Everyone thinks I'm special," he said at last. "All those people in the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirrell, Mr. Ollivander… but I don't know anything about magic at all. How can they expect great things? I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for. I don't know what happened when Vol-, sorry — I mean, the night my parents died." **

Lily and James looked sadly at their son.

**Hagrid leaned across the table. Behind the wild beard and eyebrows he wore a very kind smile. **

"**Don' you worry, Harry. You'll learn fast enough. Everyone starts at the beginning at Hogwarts, you'll be just fine. Just be yerself. I know it's hard. Yeh've been singled out, an' that's always hard. But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."**

**Hagrid helped Harry on to the train that would take him back to the Dursleys, then handed him an envelope. **

"**Yer ticket fer Hogwarts, " he said. "First o' September — King's Cross — it's all on yer ticket. Any problems with the Dursleys, send me a letter with yer owl, she'll know where to find me…. See yeh soon, Harry." **

**The train pulled out of the station. Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.**

"That's the end" James said

"Can I read next?" Alice asked

"Sure" James handed her the book. But Albus said quickly "Now, I'd like you to wait a few seconds… we have some visitors" He said as a 'pop' noise filled the room and two figures appeared from the thin air

"Hello, Dumbledore"

**Ok, hope you liked it! I'll try to update soon. Plz keep reading and reviewing! **


	7. The Journey From Platform Nine and Three

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

Chapter 7:

The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

"Hello Dumbledore" Xenophilius Lovegood said "It's good to see you"

"Hello, Xenophilius" Albus smiled "It's good to see you"

Xenophilius nodded

"Did you get it?" Albus asked

"Yes, it wasn't easy but I have my ways" Xenophilius said "Now may I ask why do you want it? It is almost as rare as the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks"

"Oh, yes" Albus agreed "I'll explain in a minute. But first let me introduce you to the room" He said as he took a brown package from Xenophilius

"This is Xenophilius Lovegood and his daughter Luna Lovegood" He said "Xenophilius, we're actually here to read a book about the next seven years. It was sent from the future, and here to read with us are Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Arthur and Molly Weasley along with their kids, William, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ronald and Ginevra, Jane and David Granger with their daughter Hermione, our keeper of the keys Hagrid, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, Harry Potter, Augusta Longbottom and her grandson Neville. And our time-travelers, Alice and Frank Longbottom, Lily and James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin."

Unlike people thought, They didn't have a hard time believing that.

"Oh, why didn't say so then?" Xenophilius said "Are we allowed to stay here to read too?"

"Yes, you should stay here" Albus said "That's what the letter said"

"Another one?" Minerva asked, he didn't tell her about that.

"Yes, here let me read it" Albus said

_Ok, this is the last 'secret' letter, we promise. But we need you to do something else, Professor Dumbledore. We need you to ask you to find Xenophilius Lovegood and ask him to find a portkey, a special portkey that instead of moving places, works as a time turner. The portkey is set for August 20__th__ at 4 pm. We'll meet you there after you've read all of the books to explain why you're here and how this will affect the future. _

_Just be sure to remember some things: you have to read all of the books until the date, Xenophilius Lovegood and his daughter will have to join the reading (if everything goes as planned they'll arrive right before you start reading the chapter 6), and please don't judge anyone before the end of the seventh book._

_Hope you enjoy your reading. You must be excite since no one knows what happens from now on._

_Ass. The Golden Trio _

"That's interesting, we'll get to see who this Golden Trio is" Moody said, he really wanted to know who was responsible for that.

"I'll put this somewhere safe" Albus said as he left the room and entered in his own room to hide thee portkey even thought he felt like he could trust the people in the room. When he came back, Xenophilius and his daughter were sitting beside Hagrid, who was telling them what happened do far.

"Shall we start then" He said happily

"**The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters" **Alice read excitedly

"Yes, now things will definitely get interesting" James said happily

**Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun. True, Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room, while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard, force him to do anything, or shout at him — in fact, they didn't speak to him at all. Half terrified, half furious, they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty.**

"I would prefer that way" Tonks said

**Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while. **

"You have a point" Tonks admitted

**Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in **_**A History of Magic**_**. **

"That's a beautiful name, Harry" Lily beamed at him, while Sirius looked at him

"You actually read the book, before school starts no least" He said

"Well, I haven't read it yet if it makes you feel better" Harry admitted

**His school books were very interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice. **

"She should have, her face would have been hilarious" George said

**Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first. **

"I did that too" Bill chuckled

**On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross station the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room. **

Everyone let a snort at that

"**Er — Uncle Vernon?" **

**Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening. **

"What is he a troll?" Sirius asked at the same time that Fred did.

"**Er — I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to — to go to Hogwarts." **

**Uncle Vernon grunted again. **

"**Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?" **

**Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes. **

"You should wait for the real words" Lily advised

"**Thank you." **

**He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke. **

"**Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?" **

"They're illegal" Remus said

**Harry didn't say anything. **

"**Where is this school, anyway?" **

"Somewhere in Scotland" Remus responded

"**I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket. **

"**I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read. **

**His aunt and uncle stared. **

"Why did Petunia stare? She knows how to get there" Lily frowned

"**Platform what?" **

"**Nine and three-quarters." **

"**Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters." **

"Yes, there is" Frank said

"**It's on my ticket." **

"**Barking," said Uncle Vernon, "howling mad, the lot of them. You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother." **

"**Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly. **

"**Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."**

People laughed again

"He should have left him with the tail" James laughed

**Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes — he'd change on the train. He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up. **

Harry in the room was beaming; He couldn't wait to get rid of the Dursleys

**Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursleys' car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off. **

**They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face. **

"**Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?" **

"Of course they have" Charlie said angrily

"Where is it?" David asked

"Right there, but you have to cross the barrier" Charlie explained, but David was still confused, thought he didn't dare to ask anymore

**He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all. **

"**Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. **

"She just left you there?!" Lily fumed

**Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. **

"At least you have good sense" Alice commented staring at James pointedly, who exclaimed

"Hey, I resent that"

Alice laughed at him, she liked Marauders, they were cool.

**The guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic. According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it; he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly lift, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl. **

"Hagrid you should have explained to him how to cross the barrier" Minerva said

**Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. **

**He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.**

"Don't" Several people said

**At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying. **

"— **packed with Muggles, of course —" **

**Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys, all with flaming red hair. **

"Flaming red hair" Bill and Charlie repeated

"It's us!" Fred and George sang, Molly smiled

**Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him — and they had an **_**owl**_**. **

**Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying. **

"**Now, what's the platform number?" said the boys' mother. **

"You go there every year and you still don't know it by heart?" Bill teased his mother who chuckled.

"**Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go…"**

"Awww…" Fred and George mocked causing the already red Ginny blush even more.

"**You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." **

**What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. **

**Harry watched, careful not to blink in case he missed it — but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished. **

"**Fred, you next," the plump woman said. **

"**I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you **_**tell **_**I'm George?"**

"**Sorry, George, dear." **

"**Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went. **

Molly groaned "Will you stop that?"

"No" The twins chorused

"Good one" Sirius congratulated them, James and Remus agreed. Fred and George beamed at being congratulated by the Marauders.

**His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone — but how had he done it? Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier he was almost there — and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere. **

**There was nothing else for it. **

"**Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman. **

"**Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."**

**She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.**

"Thanks, mate" Ron told Harry, who actually laughed. He was hoping he and Ron would be friends.

"**Yes," said Harry. "The thing is — the thing is, I don't know how to" **

"**How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded. **

"**Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron." **

"Thanks, Molly" Lily beamed at her.

"I'm glad I can help" Molly said

"**Er — okay," said Harry. **

**He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid. **

**He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble — leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run — the barrier was coming nearer and nearer — he wouldn't be able to stop — the cart was out of control — he was a foot away — he closed his eyes ready for the crash — **

**It didn't come… he kept on running… he opened his eyes. A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said **_**Hogwarts' Express, eleven o'clock**_**. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words **_**Platform Nine and Three-Quarters **_**on it, He had done it. **

Lily let a happy squeal and hugged Harry.

**Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every colo****ur wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. **

**The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again." **

"**Oh, **_**Neville**_**," he heard the old woman sigh. **

The Marauders, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie and Tonks let out a laugh at that, Neville blushed and Augusta sighed.

**A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd. **

"Lee" Fred and George exclaimed

"Do you think he got it?" Fred asked

"I hope so"

"**Give us a look, Lee, go on." **

**The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.**

Ron shuddered and Fred and George high-fived

**Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot. **

"**Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. **

Molly beamed at the twins.

"**Yes, please," Harry panted. **

"**Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!" **

**With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment. **

"Oh, I'm so proud of you" Molly hugged them, the twins laughed

"Ok, mom"

"I think it's enough"

"Sorry" She let go of them.

"**Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes. **

"**What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. **

"**Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you —?" **

Molly sighed, it was too good to last.

"**He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"_**Harry Potter**_**." chorused the twins. **

"**Oh, him," said Harry. **

People sniggered

"**I mean, yes, I am." **

**The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. **

**Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door. **

"And here comes Molly" Arthur smiled at his wife.

"**Fred? George? Are you there?" **

"**Coming, Mom." **

**With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. **

**Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.**

"Now, that's disappointing, prying, now that's disappointing" Sirius faked disappointment. People laughed

**Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief. **

"**Ron, you've got something on your nose." **

**The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. **

"Mom" Ron blushed. Molly smiled at him innocently

"_**Mom**_**— geroff" He wriggled free. **

"**Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. **

The twins high-fived

"**Shut up," said Ron. **

"**Where's Percy?" said their mother. **

"**He's coming now." **

**The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a red and gold badge on his chest with the letter **_**P **_**on it. **

"You're prefect?" Sirius said

"Yes" Percy said proudly

"**Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —" **

"**Oh, are you a **_**prefect**_**, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." **

"**Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once —" **

"**Or twice —" **

"**A minute —" **

"**All summer —" **

"**Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.**

"Percy the Prefect… sounds good, doesn't it?" Fred said

"Yeah" George agreed "Maybe we should write a song about it"

"Percy, the prefect…"

"… Is a big git..."

"SHUT UP" Percy yelled at them, which caused them to laugh

"**How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. **

"**Because he's a **_**prefect**_**," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term — send me an owl when you get there." **

**She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. **

"Ahh.. the warning" James and Sirius sighed

"**Now, you two — this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've — you've blown up a toilet or —"**

"Uhh-uh. Never give a prankster ideas, Molly" Remus said, what made Molly look terrified.

"**Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." **

"**Great idea though, thanks, Mom."**

"See"

"**It's **_**not funny**_**. **

"Yes, it is" The Marauders chorused as Molly huffed.

**And look after Ron." **

"**Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." **

"Shut up" Ron said

"**Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it. **

"**Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" **

**Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking. **

"**You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" **

"**Who?" **

"_**Harry Potter**_**!" **

**Harry heard the little girl's voice. **

"**Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please…"**

The room erupted in laughter, as Ginny blushed. She hid her face on her hands embarrassed. Harry looked at her sympathetic, but his cheeks were slightly pink.

"**You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" **

"**Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there — like lightning." **

"**Poor **_**dear **_**— no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform." **

"**Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?" **

**Their mother suddenly became very stern. **

"**I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." **

"Thanks Molly" Lily smiled at the older woman.

"**All right, keep your hair on."**

Molly rolled her eyes at the twins. 

**A whistle sounded. **

"**Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry. **

"**Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." **

"**We'll send you a Hogwarts' toilet seat." **

"_**George!**_**" **

"**Only joking, Mom." **

Sirius snorted and mumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'Doubt it'

**The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. **

Molly and Arthur smiled at the scene and was still blushing.

**Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to — but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind. **

**The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. **

Lily and Molly started paying even more attention, _Oh, I hope they'll be friends _they thought

"**Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full." **

**Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. **

Some people chuckled lightly

**Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose. **

"**Hey, Ron." **

**The twins were back. **

"**Listen, we're going down the middle of the train — Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." **

Ron shuddered

"**Right," mumbled Ron. **

"**Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then." **

"**Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them. **

"**Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.**

"No, he's Bunny Easter" Tonks joked. Half of the room stared at her confused as the other laughed. For those who didn't get it she smiled and said "Never mind"

**Harry nodded. **

"**Oh — well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And have you really got — you know…" **

"I thought I told you not to ask that" Molly schooled Ron, who looked sheepish at her and said "Humm… you told the twin?" Molly just shook her head at him.

**He pointed at Harry's forehead. **

**Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared. **

"**So that's where You-Know-Who —?"**

"**Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it." **

"**Nothing?" said Ron eagerly. **

"**Well — I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else." **

"**Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. **

"**Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him. **

Ron pursed his lips, why would anyone find him interesting?

"**Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."**

"Why?" Jane asked

"He acts pretty much like the Dursleys when around magic…" Molly explained sadly

"**So you must know loads of magic already." **

**The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about. **

"Yes, we are" Percy said

"Thought, we don't act like they do" Arthur said "We're not part of the pure-blood mania"

"**I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?" **

"**Horrible — well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." **

"**Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. **

Molly and Arthur smiled proudly. Bill and Charlie grinned.

**Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first.**

With that, the Weasleys turned to stare at Ron, who blushed. Arthur and Molly were looking sad, that their son had an inferior complex.

**You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat." Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.**

Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred and George frowned at Ron, they were going to have a long talk with him.

"**His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. **

"Ron, we'll have a talk later, ok?" Bill murmured to Ron who nodded still blushing. He didn't want them to hear that.

**Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up. **

"… **and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" **

**Ron gasped. **

"**What?" said Harry. **

"_**You said You-Know-Who's name!**_**" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed.**

"Aw, c'mon. It's ridiculous" Sirius said "You can't be afraid of a name"

"**I'd have thought you, of all people —" **

"**I'm not trying to be **_**brave **_**or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."**

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do just fine" Minerva said

"**You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough." **

**While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. **

**Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?" **

"That's the best part of the train ride" Sirius said happily

**Harry, who hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor. **

**He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry **

"I don't think she'll have Mars Bars" Hermione said

— **but the woman didn't have Mars Bars. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. **

**Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat. **

"**Hungry, are you?" **

"**Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. **

"I hope you share" Lily told Harry

**Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef…"**

"But… wasn't that your favourite?" Molly asked, Ron looked at her nervously, he did not like talking to her about that, because he knew she'd start beating up herself for forgetting something so 'important'

"No, that's my favourite" Percy said "You must have mixed it up"

"Oh, I'm sorry, my dears" Molly sighed

"**Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" **

"**You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us." **

Molly sighed again.

"**Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten).**

"That's cool, Sirius and I became friends on the train too" James said

"Yup, best friends from the start" Sirius said "It took Remus some time to warm up with us thought" He added looking at Remus, who was rolling his eyes

"Yeah, Peter too" James said "But they did it for different reasons"

"**What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not **_**really **_**frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him. **

"**No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." **

"I have like ten of that" Sirius sighed

"So do I" James said

"That's the one everyone has" Remus said as Fred, George and Ginny nodded agreeing

"You mean everyone has Agrippa but me" Ron pouted "But the only one I'm missing, well that and Ptolemy" People laughed at him

"**What?" **

"**Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards, inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." **

**Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. **

"It's you professor" Percy said, Albus smiled at him.

"Well done, Captain Obvious" Fred rolled his eyes at Percy

**Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. **

"**So **_**this **_**is Dumbledore!" said Harry. **

"**Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" **

**Harry turned over his card and read: **

_**ALBUS DUMBLEDORE **_

_**CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS **_

_**Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling. **_

**Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. **

"He's gone?" Harry said confused

"Of course, you can't expect him to hang there all day" Sirius told Harry

"**He's gone!"**

"**Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. **

Everyone in the room laughed at that.

"Looks like Ron is like you, Padfoot" James laughed

"**He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting." **

**Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. "Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos." **

"Really? Weird" Sirius commented

"**Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. **_**"Weird!" **_

"Ok, this is getting creepy" Fred said, as Molly sighed _'Please don't let Ron be like Black, I can't handle another prankster' _

**Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. **

"**You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they **_**mean **_**every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."**

"I did" George said "It was utterly disgusting"

**Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner. **

"**Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts." **

"Spouts aren't that bad" Alice said

"Speak for yourself" Sirius and Ron chorused, people chuckled.

**They had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. **

**The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. **

**There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. **

"Oh, Neville, are you ok?" Alice asked worriedly

"Humm… I don't know, it hasn't happened yet" Neville said awkwardly

"Oh, right"

"**Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" **

**When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" **

"He always runs away from me" Neville sighed

"**He'll turn up," said Harry. **

"**Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" **

**He left. **

"**Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." **

**The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap. **

"Lazy rat" Percy chuckled

"**He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" **

**He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. **

"**Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" **

Arthur frowned, he knew that Ron's hand me downs only made his inferiority complex worst. He wished he could help him more…

**He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes. **

"**Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.**

With that, the room turned to Hermione, who was blushing.

"**We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. **

"**Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." **

**She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. **

"**Er — all right." **

**He cleared his throat. **

"**Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."**

Fred and George brushed out laughing

"I can't—"

"believe—"

"You—"

"Believed it"

Ron blushed "Shut up"

"Fred, George" Molly scolded "That's not nice… you have to set an example for your brother…"

"Hey, who said it was us?" George protested

"Well, Ron had to learn it from somewhere and who else would have done something like that?" Molly said

"Humm… he could have read it somewhere… in a book for poetry" Fred tried, but he of course knew that it was probably something he or George had done.

"Yeah, right" Bill, Charlie and Percy scoffed

"Gee, Thanks" Ron mumbled.

**He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. **

"**Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very fast. **

Jane and David were tying not to laugh at their daughter, she always did that when she was nervous. Meanwhile, Sirius was staring at her

"You learned all of the books by heart?! How the bloody hell did you do that?" He asked

"Mr. Black, there are children in the room so I'd like to ask you to control your language" Minerva said "And there's nothing wrong in reading the school books" She turned Hermione "You seem really interesting, I'm certainly looking forward to teaching you"

Jane and David beamed at their daughter, and Hermione smiled "Thank you, professor"

**Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. **

"Of course not" James, Sirius, Remus, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie chorused laughing. Ron grimaced joking "I feel the love"

"**I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. **

"**Harry Potter," said Harry. **

"**Are you really?" said Hermione. **

"**I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in **_**Modern Magical History **_**and **_**The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts **_**and **_**Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century**_**." **

"Am I?" Harry asked, Hermione nodded

"Wow"

"**Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. **

"**Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; **

"It is" James said

"But you won't be in Gryffindor" Sirius said

"Yeah, you're Ravenclaw for sure" Frank said. Fred looked at the 11 years old and declared

"I don't know, I think she could be a Gryffindor" He said. George looked at his twin and then at Hermione "You know what I think you're right! Bet you a Galleon she's in Gryffindor"

"I'm in" Sirius said

In the end, Hermione's bet ended up like that: Sirius, Frank, James bet she was in Ravenclaw, while Fred, George, Charlie and Bill (who entered believing in his brothers' intuition) bet that she'd be in Gryffindor.

"You're really betting on which house my daughter will be in" Jane narrowed her eyes

"Humm… yeah" Sirius said "I mean, It's obvious that Harry will be in Gryffindor…"

"And so will Ron" Charlie said

"So that leaves Hermione" Sirius concluded

"And Neville" Frank said

"Neville will be in Gryffindor" Augusta said

"Humm… Grans, I don't think I'm brave enough to be a Gryffindor" Neville said shyly

"Believe me, boy" Charlie said "I have a feeling that you'll be in Gryffindor"

"I think I'm better off at Hufflepuff" Neville said sadly ignoring Tonks's huffing.

"Let's make a bet about that." Charlie grinned "If you're Gryffindor, you'll have to stop not believing in yourself, if you're in another house you can whatever you want to and I won't bother"

"Ok" Neville said. And for the first time in his life he wanted to lose a bet. Frank and Alice beamed, as she took the book to start reading again, at Charlie and mouthed 'Thank you', receiving a wink back. Molly was also smiling happily at his son.

**I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." **

**And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. **

"Toadless boy?" Neville attempted to joke "I'm glad you already gave me a nickname, Harry" Apparently, his joke went well, seeing that Harry and Ron laughed.

"**Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.**

That earned him a glare from David

**He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." **

"Damm" George said as Molly gave him a 'See-I-knew-it-was-you' look

"**What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. **

"**Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw **_**would **_**be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin." **

"Relax, you'll be in Gryffindor" Bill said

"Yeah, you don't have enough brains for Ravenclaw" Fred teased, when Ron looked away, Bill hit in on the back of the head and murmured "Will you shut up, we just found out he has an inferiority complex and those comments won't help" Realization drowned on Fred and he mumbled "Sorry"

"**That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" **

"**Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. **

"**You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. **

"I don't think it's going to work" Ron chuckled

"**So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" **

**Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. **

"That's a good question" Jane said

"You can do a lot of things. You can work at the Ministry, you can open your own business, work at places like Gringotts" Minerva said, deciding that this wasn't the right time for a full-length conversation about this. She'd tell her more about it later.

"**Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. **

"**Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the **_**Daily Prophet**_**, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles — someone tried to rob a high security vault." **

"WHAT?!" Bill said shocked "but that's not possible"

**Harry stared. **

"**Really? What happened to them?" **

"**Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught.**

Bill looked shocked at that too; why would anyone try and steal Gringotts, and how the hell did they manage it 

**My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." **

Bill's face darkened, he didn't have a good feeling about it.

**Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.**

Albus nodded agreeing. 

"**What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. **

"**Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed.**

"**What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time. **

**Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. **

"He is a Malfoy, only explanation" Sirius sighed.

"**Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" **

"**Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. **

"Only a coward needs a bodyguard" James said

"Oh, yeah? Then what are Lupin and Black for you, Potter?" Severus said something for the first time since they had been reading the book.

"They're not my bodyguards, Snivellus" James said angrily noticing that Lily was looking away pointedly. He knew she was still mad at Snape.

"Then why you never hex someone without them?" He asked, James glared at him

"Because, we always happened to be together and I did hex people alone, thank you very much. You should've known that" James said

"Oh, should I?" Severus argued back angrily

"Just because you're jealous…" James started, but was cut off by a dreamy small voice

"He's not jealous…" little Luna Lovegood said. James started at her

"What?"

"He's not jealous of you, he's angry with you because of what you seemed to do to him at your school days. And he hates you for taking away from him what he cherished the most, but he's not jealous of you because he hates so much that I think he'd rather die than be you" Luna declared

Both men started at the 10-years-old

"How can you know that?" Sirius asked

"He's full of Nargles" Luna said "Nargles are usually attracted by these feelings"

"Humm… and what's Nargles?" Remus asked

"Creatures that when around you make you confused and make your mind go fussy" Luna explained

"What might also explain why he exploded, there must have been a lot of Nargles around him, and in the end caused his explosion" Xenophilius beamed at his daughter "Brilliant, my dear"

Alice, not believing a word that was coming out the Lovegoods, simply decided to start reading again.

"**Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." **

"Knew he was a Malfoy" Sirius said

"We noticed" Alice rolled her eyes

**Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. **

"**Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." **

The room glared at the books

"That's not right. The Weasleys are great respectful people" David said livid, the room agreeing with him.

**He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." **

"I think he can do that by himself just fine" Lily said

**He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. **

"**I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. **

"That's my boy" James exclaimed

**Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. **

"**I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you." **

"That son of a –" Sirius started but Lily put her hand on his mouth before he could finish and Alice kept reading.

**Both Harry and Ron stood up.**

"Oh no, you won't start a fight" Molly said

"**Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.**

"Ronald Weasley" Molly gave her son a look

"**Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered. **

"**Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. **

"**But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." **

**Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell. **

"You go Ron" Sirius yelled, Molly looked terrified at the thought of her son getting in a fight before he even arrived at Hogwarts;

**Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle**

"Go Scabbers" Ron said happily

— **Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. **

"**What **_**has **_**been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. **

"**I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."**

The Ron in the room chuckled and shook his head. 

**And so he had. **

"**You've met Malfoy before?" **

**Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. **

"**I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" **

"Don't be rude, Ronald" Molly said

"**You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"**

"My thoughts exactly" Molly said

"**Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" **

"**All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. **

"**And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"**

"See Ronald" Molly said "That's why I keep telling you to pay more attention to these details. You can't appear like that in front of a lady"

"Molly, he's eleven" Arthur said

"So?"

Ron stared at his mother. What did she think it's gonna happen? That he's going to marry Hermione or something? C'mon

**Ron glared at her as she left.**

And David glared at Ron.

**Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. **

**He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them. **

Arthur sighed

**A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." **

**Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. **

**The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" **

"Hagrid" Harry said happily

**Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. **

"**C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" **

"I love helping the firs' years" Hagrid grinned, it was so fun to watch their reactions when they first saw Hogwarts.

**Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. **

"**Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." **

**There was a loud "Oooooh!" **

"It really is beautiful" Lily sighed happily

**The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. **

"**No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione. **

"Why did get I with the, if they're being so disrespectful?" David askd his daughter, who blushed

"I don't know, daddy. I haven't done it yet" She said. David still look disturbed, he didn't have a good feeling about it.

"**Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then — FORWARD!" **

**And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. **

"**Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle,until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. **

All Hogwarts ex-students sighed remembering that place that had been their homes for 7 years.

"**Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. **

"Oh, it must be Trevor" Neville said

"**Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. **

**Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. **

**They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. **

"**Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" **

Frank and Augusta managed to chuckle

**Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.**

"It's the end" Alice said

"I'll read next" Remus said. Alice gave him the book.

"Humm, before you start reading again, could you excuse us for a moment" Bill said. He wanted to talk to Ron right away, since he didn't know when he'd have another opportunity "We need to have a brothers-to-brother talk"

Ron gulped, knowing what was going to happen, but stood up anyway followed by his brothers. Molly and Arthur were about to stand up too. But a look from Charlie stopped them as they got the message. This was something that had to be between them.


	8. The Sorting Hat

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

Chapter 8:

The Sorting Hat

"C'mon, Ron" Bill called as he watched his younger brother follow him to the old kitchen of the old muggle mansion. All six brothers gathered around the wood-made table. It was all too awkward, as they glanced at each other wondering how to start this conversation.

"Ahem, Ahem" Charlie cleared his throat uncomfortably "Ron, we noticed by this book that you may have some issues…" He started

"It's nothing, you're making big deal out of nothing" Ron mentally whished to be anywhere but there.

"Ron…" Bill started "What's the matter? We just want to help you…"

"Yeah, we're your brothers and we just you to be happy…" Percy said

"I'm afraid, ok?" Ron snapped, knowing that longer he denied it, longer he'd be stuck at this situation "I'm scared…"

"Of what?" George asked

"Of… not being… enough…" Ron muttered. His brothers stared at him confused "All of you guys have something special. Bill was Head Boy, he managed to be intelligent and cool at the same time. Charlie's the courageous, working with Dragons? Is there something more dangerous than that? I can't think of anything someone can do to have more courage than you…" He was avoiding look into their eyes "Fred and George are the fun ones, they're funny, awesome at pranks… and everyone wants to be their friends… and Percy's the intelligent one, he's organized, he only has top marks, he's studious and then there's Ginny… the baby girl… but there's also me… t-the-the… nothing."

Ron kept staring at the floor, but he could feel his brothers looking at him

"Ron…" Bill said softly "You know that's not true…"

"It is, Bill" Ron said, he could feel his eyes getting wet, but he wasn't going to cry "Please, don't lie. I know mum didn't even want me, she wanted a girl…"

"Ronald Weasley, don't say that!" Charlie said angrily "Mum loves you, she loves you just as she likes any of you"

"Yes, you better never say that words again" Percy said "Ron, we're family, we love you. And you shouldn't be afraid everyone's special their own way"

"I think that what Perce is trying to say is that you'll find what you're good at someday" Fred said

"You didn't even start Hogwarts yet, maybe you'll even surprise yourself" George said

"Yeah right" Ron scoffed

"Why are you so determined to prove that you're not good enough?" Bill asked

"Because I don't want to kid myself with a possibility that isn't that possible" Ron said and then he sighed "Don't get me wrong. I love my family, I love you guys, I love Ginny, mum and dad. Yes, I would have liked to have some new stuff for a change but that would mean I wouldn't have you guys so it's not worth it. But I know that… I just…"

"You just what, Ron?" Charlie asked "What makes you think you can't? What are the proves?"

Ron sighed, he wouldn't get out of that "I don't have any…"

"Then stop saying bullshit… and until you have a proof that you're not enough I don't want to see you like that" Charlie said. Ron sighed

"Alright"

"Good, you better keep it" George said. Ron nodded trying to hide the fact that he was still not convinced.

"Ok, now let's go back" Percy said. And slowly the Weasleys Boys walked back into the living room. The room was filled with soft chatting, but as they entered the room, their mother jumped on her seat and tried to hug all six of them at once. 'Oh My boys, are you ok?' she kept asking and it took her a while to settle down. Awkwardly, Remus started reading

"**The Sorting Hat" **He read

"Guess we'll see which house this lot will be in then…" Sirius said

**The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. **

Minerva smiled smugly as James grinned

"Don't worry, Harry. Minnie's softie, that's just the impression she wants you to have" He told his son as Minerva glared at him

"Mr. Potter, could you stop calling me that stupid nickname?" She said as James kept grinning at her.

"**The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. **

"**Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." **

**She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. **

"It really sounds beautiful" Jane sighed, she whished she could see that.

**They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. **

Minerva smiled, she liked to guide the first years, they were so young and naïve, they were the start and she liked to observe how much they grow during their 7 years at Hogwarts.

"**Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."**

"**The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. **

"It's an interesting way of separating the students…" Jane pondered

"Yes, it's the best I way. Because they spend most of the year away from their families so being part of a house helps you a lot, since it kind of is like a family" Alice said

"The only harm it has is the fact that it's really rare to see a friendship with people from different houses, and the ones existents rarely ever last" Lily said pointedly

"Actually it's more like Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff get along well, thought best friends are always in the same house. But they don't have problems with each other. Slytherin on other hand, don't get along with any other house" Tonks said, not knowing about Lily's and Severus's story

"Yeah, I guess you're right" Lily said

"**The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." **

**Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Harry nervously tried to flatten his hair.**

"Yeah, right. As if that'd work" Sirius scoffed

"**I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." **

**She left the chamber. Harry swallowed. **

"Do you do that just to make them more nervous?" Frank asked

"No, I do that to fix the hat before they come in" Minerva said

"What hat?" Hermione, Ron, Harry and Neville asked at the same time. Minerva wasn't surprised most pure-bloods or half-bloods parents don't tell their children about the sorting so that they can be surprised and she doubted there was a book Hermione would have read that mentions the hat. At least at that point, she knew the girl would be more worried about the subjects. So she smiled at them

"Never minds, dears"

"**How exactly do they sort us into houses?" he asked Ron. **

"**Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."**

"You need to stop listening to them" Bill said

**Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he didn't know any magic yet —what on earth would he have to do? He hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw that everyone else looked terrified, too. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she'd need. **

People chuckled, Jane smiled at Hermione, who was blushing.

**Harry tried hard not to listen to her. He'd never been more nervous, never, not even when he'd had to take a school report home to the Dursleys saying that he'd somehow turned his teacher's wig blue. **

"Awesome" Sirius and James exclaimed

**He kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead him to his doom.**

"Wow, you are such a pessimistic" Charlie observed

**Then something happened that made him jump about a foot in the air — several people behind him screamed. **

"**What the —?" **

**He gasped. So did the people around him. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. **

"They love doing that to scare the first-years" Charlie chuckled

"There ghosts at the school?" Jane paled

"Relax they're not like muggle's ghosts" Remus said

"No?" Jane still looked pale "Wait that means that there are ghosts"

"What is the difference?" Hermione asked interested

"Wizards that are afraid of dying, die and may turn into ghosts, they can do whatever they want for the rest of eternity after that, those ghosts for example chose to live at Hogwarts, Muggles on other hand, stay on earth when they have unfinished business with the living and/ or are attracted to a specific place. But they can't stay here forever eventually they have to go to where they're suppose to go" Remus explained

"Wow, I think I was better off when I thought they didn't exist" David said

**Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —" **

"**My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?" **

"Seems like old dear Peeves still around" Sirius smiled

**A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. **

**Nobody answered. **

"**New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" **

**A few people nodded mutely. **

"**Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know." **

"He's kind of cool" Tonks said

"**Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." **

**Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. **

"**Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me." **

**Feeling oddly as though his legs had turned to lead, Harry got into line behind a boy with sandy hair, with Ron behind him, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. **

**Harry had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. **

**It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in **_**Hogwarts, A History**_**."**

"You actually read Hogwarts, A History?" Fred said "No one reads that thing"

"It was actually rather interesting" Hermione said "I enjoyed it"

"We read it too" James said happily

"You read a book that wasn't about Quidditch?" Lily mocked shock "I'm amazed"

"Ha, Ha" Sirius rolled his eyes

"Actually, we only read to see if there was something to help in our pranks there, so you won't be disappointed" Remus told her

"Is there?" George asked, Sirius smirked

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

**It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. **

**Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house. **

_**Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it**_**, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing**

"Why the hell would we do that?" Ron asked

"It's what muggles magicians do" Hermione explained

— **noticing that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing: **

"The hat _sang_?" Jane said shocked and then she chuckled shaking her head "I shouldn't be surprised"

"_**Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,**_

_**But don't judge on what you see, **_

"Wait you have to sing, Moony" Sirius interrupted as Remus shot him a 'Hell-no' look and started reading again

_**I'll eat myself if you can find **_

_**A smarter hat than me. **_

_**You can keep your bowlers black, **_

_**Your top hats sleek and tall, **_

_**For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat **_

_**And I can cap them all. **_

_**There's nothing hidden in your head **_

_**The Sorting Hat can't see, **_

_**So try me on and I will tell you **_

_**Where you ought to be. **_

_**You might belong in Gryffindor, **_

_**Where dwell the brave at heart, **_

_**Their daring, nerve, and chivalry **_

_**Set Gryffindors apart; **_

_**You might belong in Hufflepuff, **_

_**Where they are just and loyal, **_

_**Those patient Hufflepuffs are true **_

_**And unafraid of toil; **_

_**Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, **_

_**if you've a ready mind, **_

_**Where those of wit and learning, **_

_**Will always find their kind; **_

_**Or perhaps in Slytherin **_

_**You'll make your real friends, **_

_**Those cunning folk use any means **_

_**To achieve their ends. **_

_**So put me on! Don't be afraid! **_

_**And don't get in a flap! **_

_**You're in safe hands (though I have none) **_

_**For I'm a Thinking Cap!" **_

"Did it write the song?" David asked

"Yes and it changes every year" Augusta told him

**The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. **

"**So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." **

Fred and George laughed and Molly frowned at them disappointed

**Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment. If only the hat had mentioned a house for people who felt a bit queasy, that would have been the one for him. **

**Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. **

"**When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!" **

**A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause — **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. **

Tonks clapped, people stared at her "What? It's just Gryffindors that can show their house spirit?"

Remus shook his head and whispered to James "Must be in the blood"

**The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her. **

"**Bones, Susan!" **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. **

"Yeah" Tons cheered again

"**Boot, Terry!" **

"**RAVENCLAW!" **

"Is there a Ravenclaw here?" James asked curiously

"I am" Xenophilius said

**The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. **

"**Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, **

"Yeahhh" The many Gryffindors in the room cheered, well most of them.

**and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling. **

Molly sighed at her sons' immature behaviour.

"**Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot. **

"They are unpleasant, Harry" James said

**He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him. **

"**Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" **

"**HUFFLEPUFF!" **

"Wow, quite a lot of Hufflepuffs this year" Tonks said

**Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.**

"Yeah" The Gryffindors cheered again

"**Granger, Hermione!"**

"Ha, guess we see that we were right now" Sirius grinned.

**Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.**

"**GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.**

"Congratulation, my dear" Jane hugged her daughter

"Yeah, you'll do great, I'm sure" David smiled at her 

"YEAHHH" Charlie, Bill, Fred and George exclaimed "Pay up"

"But… she…argh" Sirius handed them the money as did James and Frank. Fred and George got up and hugged a blushing Hermione "We love you" They sang. David tried not to glare at them, he didn't like the idea of two boys hugging his daughter.

"Ignore them, Miss Granger" Minerva rolled her eyes "And I may say that I'll enjoy having you on my house" She said. Hermione looked pleased with herself.

**Ron groaned.**

And David glared at him again. Ron tried not to show that he noticed but it was starting to freak him out, c'mon he didn't even do that yet.

**A horrible thought struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he'd better get back on the train? **

**When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. **

Augusta shook her head, as Neville blushed and Alice chuckled "You get that from me

**The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," **

"I won" Charlie grinned at the boy, who tried not to smile

**Neville ran off still wearing it, **

**and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." **

**Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"**

"No one doubted it" Sirius said

**Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself. **

**There weren't many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"… , "Parkinson"… , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil"… , then "Perks, Sally-Anne"… , and then, at last — **

"**Potter, Harry!"**

"Yay, you're turn"

**As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. **

"_**Potter**_**, did she say?" **

"_**The **_**Harry Potter?" **

"Leave him alone, he's not an animal" Lily snapped

**The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. He waited. **

"**Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. **

"It's not, he's a Gryffindor" Jamessaid

**Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, A my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"**

**Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, **_**Not Slytherin, not Slytherin**_**. **

"**Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that**

Severus looked utterly surprised at that, Potter's son in Slytherin, that one he'd like to see

— **no? Well, if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!" **

"Yeah" Sirius cheered "Scared me for a minute"

"No kidding" James said as he grinned at Harry "Congrats, Harry"

"Congratulation, Harry" Lily hugged him.

**Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" **

People chuckled at the twins, who high-fived again.

**Harry sat down opposite the ghost in the ruff he'd seen earlier. The ghost patted his arm, giving Harry the sudden, horrible feeling he'd just plunged it into a bucket of ice-cold water. **

**He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the ****centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized him at once from the card he'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban. **

"Wonder why he wears it" Moody said

**And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a Black boy even taller than Ron, joined Harry at the Gryffindor table. **

"**Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Harry crossed his fingers under the table and a second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" **

"Go Ron" The Weasleys along with the Gryffindors cheered

"Wow, we have quite a lot of Gryffindors here" James said "There's me, Remus, Sirius, Lily, Frank, Alice, Dumbledore, Minnie, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Hagrid, Mrs. Longbottom, Moody and now Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville. Wow 22 Gryffindors"

"Plus one Ravenclaw, one Slytherin and one Hufflepuff" Tonks said

"There's still Luna and Ginny too" Molly said "We don't know their houses yet"

"I'll be in Gryffindor too" Ginny said

"And I'll be in Ravenclaw" Luna said

**Harry clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair next to him. **

"**Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Harry as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away. **

**Harry looked down at his empty gold plate. He had only just realized how hungry he was. The pumpkin pasties seemed ages ago. **

**Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. **

Albus smiled, he rally enjoyed the sigh

"**Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! **

"**Thank you!" **

**He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. **

"**Is he — a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly. **

Albus chuckled "I am a bit mad, yeah" He admitted

"**Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" **

**Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs. **

"I'm hungry" Ron and Sirius declared as people laughed again

"Well eat after a couple more chapters" Minerva said

**The Dursleys had never exactly starved Harry, but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he liked. Dudley had always taken anything that Harry really wanted, even if It made him sick. Harry piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious. **

"**That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Harry cut up his steak. **

"**Can't you —?" **

"**I haven't eaten for nearly five hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower." **

"Sir Nicholas is cool" James said

"**I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you — you're Nearly Headless Nick!"**

"What do you mean Nearly Headless?" David asked

"**I would **_**prefer **_**you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy —" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted. **

"_**Nearly **_**Headless? How can you be **_**nearly **_**headless?" **

**Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. **

"He says he hates, but I know he loves it when people ask him that" Minerva rolled her eyes

"**Like **_**this**_**," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. **

Jane looked disgusted as did most women in the room, while her husband let out a

"Awesome" followed by agreement from other males.

**Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So — new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable — he's the Slytherin ghost." **

**Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements. **

Harry and Ron looked happy in the room too.

"**How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. **

"**I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately. **

**When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding… **

"Stop mentioning the food" Sirius moaned, Ron nodded

**As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families. **

"**I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."**

"This sounds like Bewitched" Jane said "I love that show"

"What is that?" Arthur asked

"It's a TV series that tells the story of a witch that fell in love with a non-magical man. They got married but she only told him about it after they married with a plus of a visit of his mother-in-law that was so not pleased with her daughter's taste in men" Jane explained

"Fascinating" Arthur said as some people laughed

**The others laughed. **

"**What about you, Neville?" said Ron. **

"**Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me — he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned — but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles **

Alice gasped and Frank mumbled something about having a talk with Uncle Algie.

**when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced — all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here — they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." **

**On Harry's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I **_**do **_**hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, **

Minerva smiled

**you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult —"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing — "). **

**Harry, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin. **

"Snape" James and Sirius said it as something disgusting.

**It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into Harry's eyes — and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scar on Harry's forehead. **

Lily crossed her arms, she knew Severus wasn't going to treat Harry right because of his father and she hated him for it, well, she didn't hate him, but… well…

"**Ouch!" Harry clapped a hand to his head. **

"**What is it?" asked Percy. **

"**N-nothing." **

**The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Harry had gotten from the teacher's look — a feeling that he didn't like Harry at all. **

Severus sighed, he knew that was true but he didn't want Lily to hear about that.

"**Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?" he asked Percy. **

"**Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to — everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."**

**Harry watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at him again. **

**At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. **

"**Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. **

"**First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." **

"We never listened to that" Sirius chuckled

"That's not a reason to be proud" Molly snapped. Sirius looked taken back. No matter what Lily says he's not stupid. He knows that Dumbledore shortened his story as much as possible and that there was something he wasn't telling him. Because he could see that everyone but the time-travellers, the younger kids, the twins, Xenophilius Lovegood, Jane and David (but that probably because they were muggles) and Dumbledore himself was looking at him as if he'd explode and start killing everyone at any moment. Especially Molly. They didn't trust him.

**Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.**

"**I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. **

"No one ever listens to that" Remus said

"**Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. **

"**And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." **

**Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. **

"**He's not serious?" **

"No, I am" Sirius said. James and Remus hit him on the back of his head

"Ow, that hurts"

**he muttered to Percy. **

"**Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere — the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." **

"**And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. **

**Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. **

"**Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" **

**And the school bellowed: **

"Let's all sing" Fred and George said happily as Hogwarts students and ex-students sang happily

"_**Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, **_

_**Teach us something please, **_

_**Whether we be old and bald **_

_**Or young with scabby knees, **_

_**Our heads could do with filling **_

_**With some interesting stuff, **_

_**For now they're bare and full of air, **_

_**Dead flies and bits of fluff, **_

_**So teach us things worth knowing, **_

_**Bring back what we've forgot, **_

_**just do your best, we'll do the rest, **_

_**And learn until our brains all rot."**_

Jane and David clapped

"That's really good" __

**Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march.**

As they did in the room

**Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. **

"**Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" **

**The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt. **

**A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him. **

"**Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves — show yourself." **

"Dear old Peeves" Sirius sighed again

**A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered. **

"**Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?" **

**There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks. **

"**Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" **

**He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked. **

"**Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy. **

"Is he afraid of the Baron or something?" Harry asked

"The Bloody Baron is the only person he respects" James explained "You'll learn how to use in your favour in no time"

**Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of ****armour as he passed. **

"**You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are." **

"Yes, because Prefects are really important" Fred muttered to George lowly but unfortunately for them, their mother heard them and glared at them.

**At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress. **

"**Password?" she said. **

"**Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it — Neville needed a leg up — and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.**

"I love the common room" Lily sighed and all of the Gryffindor that had already been there agreed.

**Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase — they were obviously in one of the towers — they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed. **

"**Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings. "Get **_**off**_**, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets." **

**Harry was going to ask Ron if he'd had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once. **

**Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. **

"Ugh?" James let out

**Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully — and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it — then Malfoy turned into the hook-nosed teacher, Snape, whose laugh became high and cold — there was a burst of green light and Harry woke, sweating and shaking. **

"That's what you get for eating too much before going to bed" Lily said

**He rolled over and fell asleep again, and when he woke next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.**

"That's the end" Remus said

"Let me read next" Lily said

"Ok" Remus gave her the book


	9. The Potions Master

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

* * *

_**Chapter 9:**_

_**The Potions Master**_

"**The Potions Master," **Lily read, frowning. She did not want to talk to Severus and reading a chapter about him wasn't going to make it easy.

"**There, look." **

"**Where?" **

"**Next to the tall kid with the red hair." **

"**Wearing the glasses?" **

"**Did you see his face?" **

"**Did you see his scar?" **

Harry frowned "Is it always going to be like that?" he asked

"What's wrong with it?" James asked confused "There's nothing wrong with a bit of attention"

"Just because you're an attention seeking git, James, it doesn't mean that our son has to be too" Lily rolled her eyes. James pouted and most people laughed.

**Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory the next day. People lining up outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished they wouldn't, because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. **

Severus raised an eyebrow, he didn't think like he thought Potter's son would, but he wasn't convinced

**There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending. It was also very hard to remember where anything was, because it all seemed to move around a lot. **

"Maybe you could use a map" Sirius smirked. The Marauders and the twins laughed as the rest of the room looked afraid of what this 'map' could so. Knowing the Marauders, the possibility of having something else on it were high.

**The people in the portraits kept going to visit each other, and Harry was sure the coats of armor could walk. **

"Yes, they can" Tonks said "On my first week they decided to follow me around scaring the hell out of me"

**The ghosts didn't help, either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. **

"Never trust Peeves" Percy said

**He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!" **

"I hate when he does that" Frank shuddered, Alice and Lily nodded agreeing

"He never does that to us" James grinned

"That'd be because you and Sirius taught him that" Remus rolled his eyes

"You taught him that?! Cool" The twins chimed

"If they taught him that why didn't he to that to you?" Frank raised an eyebrow at Remus, who smirked

"Being a Marauder has it's advantaged"

**Even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch. **

"He's still alive?!" Sirius groaned

"Yes, he is, Mr. Black and you should be glad so" Minerva snapped

"Aww, c'mon the guy is a pain on the neck" Sirius whined

"I was under the impression that you enjoy making his life a hell" Alice commented

"We do" James and Sirius chorused "It's quite amusing"

"And why didn't you try and stop them?" Lily looked at Remus, but before the werewolf could say anything James and Sirius started laughing

"Yeah, right" Sirius let out "He helped us everyday"

"And sometimes gave us ideas" James added "Remember the day Filch stole his chocolate…" He couldn't finish his sentence as he and Sirius started laughing again. Albus and Minerva were looking at three boys amused, wondering what happened under their noses. Remus blushed "Er… Lily you should keep reading"

Lily wanted to know more, but she read anyway

**Harry and Ron managed to get on the wrong side of him on their very first morning. **

"That's impressive" George said as he grinned "You know, Fred, maybe Ronnie here will follow our footsteps"

Fred grinned back "Maybe we should start giving him some… tips" They laughed. Ron, for some reason, looked interested. Molly, on other hand

"No, absolutely not" She crossed her arms. And Lily just kept reading.

**Filch found them trying to force their way through a door that unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose, and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing. **

**Filch owned a cat called Mrs. Norris, a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes just like Filch's. **

"Oh, no" This time not only the Marauders, but Lily, Alice and Frank groaned too

"He must have done something with that cat" Sirius concluded "Dark Magic, because hell doesn't she die?"

"Mr. Filch is not capable of doing dark magic, Mr. Black" Minerva said

**She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) **

The Twins high-fived again

**and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. The students all hated him, and it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick. **

"We kicked her" Sirius, James and surprisingly Remus exclaimed happily

"What have you done to him?" Alice gasped

"What? She always got in the way of our pranks" Remus defended himself.

"Wow, they were right when they said you weren't as innocent as you seem" Tonks teased. Remus winked at her "Never been" Tonks went red and that made the whole room laugh

"Moony and Dora" Sirius laughed "This should be good"

Remus, fighting the blush coming to his face rolled his eyes. And Lily started reading after people stopped laughing.

**And then, once you had managed to find them, there were the classes themselves. There was a lot more to magic, as Harry quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. **

"Of course it is" Minerva saidd

**They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, **

**where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. **

**Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.**

Minerva and Albus chuckled

**Professor McGonagall was again different. Harry had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. **

"**Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." **

Minerva smiled.

**Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger had made any difference to her match; Professor McGonagall showed the class how it had gone all silver and pointy and gave Hermione a rare smile. **

"Well done, Miss Granger" Minerva smiled "I was right when I said you'd do great"

Hermione beamed

**The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. **

"He must have suffered if he can't even talk about it" Alice said with sympathy. Moody on other hand looked suspicious.

**Harry was very relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like him, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Ron didn't have much of a head start. **

Ron looked surprised on being addressed as someone… er… superior, because he knew he was not in any way.

**Friday was an important day for Harry and Ron. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once. **

"It took you a week, we did on the second day" George scoffed

"**What have we got today?" Harry asked Ron as he poured sugar on his porridge. **

"**Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true." **

"I bet it is" Sirius muttured

"**Wish McGonagall favored us," said Harry. **

"Of course not" Minerva said

**Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.**

"That's kind of mean" Sirius commented "Poor firsties, they didn't stand a chance" He joked

"It's important for the students to do their homework, Mr. Black" Minerva snapped "It helps them a lot, even if you never respected its help, it is important"

"Yeah, Yeah" Sirius waved his hand in a careless manner. Minerva rolled her eyes. 

**Just then, the mail arrived. Harry had gotten used to this by now, but it had given him a bit of a shock on the first morning, when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, **

"It must be a beautiful sigh" David said intrigued, but Jane looked worried

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" She said nervously "Some birds are known for having illnesses that can be passed to humans. Is it wise to let the birds fly around, especially on breakfast time?"

"Relax, Mrs. Granger. I guarantee you that it's not dangerous" Albus smiled at her

**circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps. **

**Hedwig hadn't brought Harry anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble his ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. **

"Aww, that's so sweet" Lily said

"Yeah, she's really smart" Alice agreed

**This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Harry's plate. Harry tore it open at once. It said, in a very untidy scrawl: **

_**Dear Harry, **_

_**I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? **_

_**I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Hedwig. **_

_**Hagrid**_

Lily beamed at Hagrid and mouthed 'Thanks'. Hagrid smiled back at her.__

**Harry borrowed Ron's quill, scribbled **_**Yes, please, see you later **_**on the back of the note, and sent Hedwig off again. **

**It was lucky that Harry had tea with Hagrid to look forward to, because the Potions lesson turned out to be the worst thing that had happened to him so far. **

"I wonder why?" James muttered unhappily, Snape was going to make his son life hell and there was nothing he could do about that. Great, that's just great.

**At the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry — he **_**hated **_**him. **

Minerva shot Severus an disappointing look, as Albus shoo his head, but didn't do anything. The Marauders were frowning and wanted so badly so say something, but they knew how much he had hurt Lily and how hard it was for her to read this.

Molly and Jane who did not know the story were shooting Severus a look that clearly said 'How-can-you-hate-a-student-you-barely-know'. Alice and Frank had an idea of what was wrong, so they stick to hoping he wouldn't bully all Gryffindors.

**Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. **

"Sounds like Biology" David said, he loved biology

"It's not exactly that" Lily said "It's more like Chemistry, the animals are the ingredients"

"Oh"

**Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name. **

"**Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — **_**celebrity**_**." **

**Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. **

Severus was not liking this at all

"**You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort.**

"For different reasons" Charlie muttured, he had class with Snape and let's just say that he's the reason he sucked at Potions, the guy freaked him out.

"**As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." **

**More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. **

Jane and David chuckled

"**Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" **

"Hey, that's not fair, you don't learn that on first year" Remus exclaimed, knowing that that was what Lily wanted to say.

"You can't do that, Snape" Sirius agreed. Severus did not look directly at them when he said

"You can't teach me how to teach my class since I believe I'm the Potions Master at Hogwarts"

Sirius was about to say something back at him, but Lily put her hand on his shoulder telling him to stop. She had been best friends with him for years and she knew that the one thing he hated more than anything is to be ignored

_**Powdered root of what to an infusion of what**_**? Harry glanced at Ron, who looked as stumped as he was; Hermione's hand had shot into the air. **

The Severus in the room looked surprised that the girl knew it, but of course wouldn't admit it.

"**I don't know, sir," said Harry. **

**Snape's lips curled into a sneer. **

"**Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything." **

**He ignored Hermione's hand. **

"**Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" **

Harry was looking nervous, am I really that stupid? He thought sadly.

"Professor Snape, I think we'll have a talk later" Minerva said unhappily, how could he do that to a student?

**Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.**

"I doubt they know it" Bill scoffed

"**I don't know, sir." **

"**Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in **_**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**_**? **

**Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. **

"You really know that" Remus looked at the girl, who blushed

"I didn't wait to seem stupid" Most people chuckled

"You must certainly won't seem stupid" Molly smiled at her

"**What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" **

**At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.**

"**I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?" **

"Go Harry" Fred and George cheered

**A few people laughed; Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased. **

"**Sit down," he snapped at Hermione.**

"That's not fair" Charlie said "You asked a question and she knows the a answer" Severus glared at him, Charlie smiled. Now that he was out of school he didn't have to 'behave' in front of him.

"**For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" **

**There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."**

**Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. **

Minerva looked angry at that, of course, there were some students she liked better than others, but that didn't mean she showed favouritism.

**He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs. **

"Neville" Alice and Augusta exclaimed. Neville bowed his head ready to apologize about his stupidness, but after catching Charlie's eyes, he stuck to keeping looking at his feet.

"Oh my God, are you ok?" Alice said looking at her son, Neville looked surprised. Did she really expect an answer? It didn't even happen yet.

"**Idiot boy!" **

"Don't call my son stupid!" Frank growled

**snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" **

**Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. **

"**Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville. **

"**You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."**

"That's not fair, he didn't know what I'd do" Neville exclaimed 

**This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron kicked him behind their cauldron. **

"**Don't push it," he muttered, "I've heard Snape can turn very nasty." **

**As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week**

The Marauders and the Twins scoffed

"That's nothing" Fred said "We lost 50 in our first day"

"We lost 50 in our first class" James smirked. Fred and George looked impressed

—_**why **_**did Snape hate him so much? **

"Yes, why do hate him?" Jane asked angrily

Severus ignored her

"It's because of me" James said

"What?" Harry said

"Let's just say Snape and I weren't what you call friend and we played some pranks on him, so I'm sure that's why he hates you. He's probably thinking you're just like me" James exclaimed

"That's not reason for you to hate him" Molly said

"The world doesn't need another James Potter" Severus whispered

"He's my son too, you know Severus" Lily said for the first time addressing Severus since they arrived.

"I know" Something glimpsed on his eyes that confused her. But she didn't want to think about it because he choose the Dark path over her so that's what he gets. She started reading again

"**Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?" **

**At five to three they left the castle and made their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door. **

**When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "**_**Back**_**, Fang —**_**back**_**." **

"Who's Fang?" Ron asked

"Me dog" Hagrid said

"How is dear old Fang, Hagrid?" Charlie asked

" Good, but still a coward" Hagrid chuckled

**Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. **

"**Hang on," he said. "**_**Back**_**, Fang." **

**He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. **

**There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it. **

"**Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. **

"He used to do that to me too" Charlie chuckled

**Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.**

Hagrid chuckled 

"**This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. **

"**Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles.**

Ron frowned as his brothers suppressed a sigh. If people didn't stop to address Ron as 'Another Weasley' he'd never get over his inferiority complex

"**I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."**

"How come nobody told me that?" Molly glared at her sons

"C'mon, mum. It's cool there" George said

"It's dangerous" Molly said

"What's life without a bit of danger?" Fred asked. Charlie cheered

"Hear, Hear" but as Molly turned her glared at him, he corrected himself "I mean, It's dangerous and stupid"

People chuckled "Wow, Romania whipped you" George said. More people laughed

"Yeah, I mean dragons no problems, Mum on other hand" Fred said and this time everyone laughed including Molly and Charlie. 

**The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. **

"What? Yer don't like me cakes?!" Hagrid looked shocked

"Humm… maybe it was just that cake" Harry suggested shyly

"Oh, it must that new flour I was going to buy. I'll make sure not to buy it anymore" He said.

**Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes. **

**Harry and Ron were delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git." **

"**An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it." **

"You should do that" Bill said

"If you want some help" Fred started

"We're free every Thursday afternoon" George concluded

**Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students. **

"**But he seemed to really **_**hate **_**me." **

"**Rubbish!" said Hagrid. "Why should he?" **

"Because he's unfair" Jane huffed

**Yet Harry couldn't help thinking that Hagrid didn't quite meet his eyes when he said that. **

"**How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot — great with animals." **

Charlie grinned "I'm alright" He said

**Harry wondered if Hagrid had changed the subject on purpose. **

"Of course he did"

**While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the **_**Daily Prophet**_**: **

_**GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST **_

Bill started to listen carefully at that.

_**Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. **_

"_**But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon. **_

"Sounds like something a Goblin would say" Bill chuckled

**Harry remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date. **

"**Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!" **

**There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake. Harry read the story again. **_**The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. **_

"Told you it was not a smart idea to do that in front of him" Remus said

**Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? **

Albus looked thoughtful at that. _Who could be looking for the stone? Unless… oh. Yes, that'd be possible. I just hope it is not what I'm thinking_.

**As Harry and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Harry thought that none of the lessons he'd had so far had given him as much to think about as tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid collected that package just in time? Where was it now? And did Hagrid know something about Snape that he didn't want to tell Harry?**

"Wow, you're a worrier" Tonks snorted

"That's the end of the chapter" Lily said

"Can I read next?" Tonks said

"Sure" Lily gladly gave her the book

"Let's see, next chapter is called 'The Midnight Duel'" She said

"You better not be duelling!" Molly and Lily exclaimed

"Yeah, you have to learn how to do it first" James said. Lily glared at him

"I mean… huh… why don't you read, Tonks?" He said, as the pink-haired witch chuckled


	10. The Midnight Duel

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

**A.N.: People have been asking me to bring Dobby and Regulus, I'm not sure if I'll do it, but if I do so it won't be ****in this book. What do you think, should I do it or not?**

**Another thing, you can relax, Hermione and Neville will take a bigger part on thee story. I'm not putting them a lot yet because I think that, on the beginning, it would be a bit uncomfortable for them. Neville because that's just the way his 11-years-old is, but as he will see how much he'll grow in every way he'll start to get more confidence. And Hermione because she's nervous. She has always been a bit of a freak on her muggle school, so Hogwarts is like her change of being 'normal' and getting friends. But she's seeing that she's not getting it on these chapters, so she's a bit confused and sad. But after she makes friends with Harry and Ron, she'll loose up a lot more. **

**Enough of my babbling, enjoy this chapter. I'm not sure exactly when I'll be able to update but I'll do it soon. I promise.**

**Oh, and for those who had some doubts, this is definitely a Ron/ Hermione, Ginny/ Harry and Tonks/ Remus story ;-) **

Chapter 10:

The Midnight Duel

"**The Midnight Duel," **Tonks read half-laughing at the glares Lili and Molly were giving their sons

**Harry had never believed he would meet a boy he hated more than Dudley, but that was before he met Draco Malfoy. Still, first-year Gryffindors only had Potions with the Slytherins, so they didn't have to put up with Malfoy much.**

"Lucky for you" Sirius said "We had to put up with the snakes in Potions, Herbology and charms"

**Or at least, they didn't until they spotted a notice pinned up in the Gryffindor common room that made them all groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday — and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.**

"Not a good idea" Frank said

"What is the reason behind this rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin?" David asked curiously

"It's a long story" Remus said "Slytherins are known for supporting Voldermort's philosophy, that only pure-blood wizards deserve the privilege of having magical powers. While Gryffindor is known for being that house that has more 'blood-traitors'"

"I guess that makes sense, I mean, it takes courage to be a traitor, even when being the traitor is the right thing to do" David said "But is that the only reason?"

"No, but it's the main reason" Remus said

"**Typical," said Harry darkly. "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy."**

Harry looked nervous, James saw that

"Don't worry, you'll do fine" He said

"How do you know?" Harry asked

"You're a Potter" James told him "Potters are natural flyers" Harry grinned at him, feeling a bit relived. Jane, on other hand, looked worried. Hermione's afraid of highs and she knew that she wouldn't be able to fly.

**He had been looking forward to learning to fly more than anything else.**

"**You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."**

**Malfoy certainly did talk about flying a lot. He complained loudly about first years never getting on the house Quidditch teams**** and told long, boastful stories that always seemed to end with him narrowly escaping Muggles in helicopters.**

"Yeah, right. I bet he doesn't even know what a helicopter is" Bill scoffed

**He wasn't the only one, though: the way Seamus Finnigan told it, he'd spent most of his childhood zooming around the countryside on his broomstick. Even Ron would tell anyone who'd listen about the time he'd almost hit a hang glider on Charlie's old broom. **

"What?! You took my broom?" Charlie exclaimed

"Your old broom" Ron corrected, backing off a bit. One thing you should learn, never ever make Charlie angry. Sometimes he can be more destructive than a Dragon.

**Everyone from wizarding families talked about Quidditch constantly.**

"Because it's awesome" Ron said happily and the others boys nodded.

**Ron had already had a big argument with Dean Thomas, who shared their dormitory, about soccer. Ron couldn't see what was exciting about a game with only one ball where no one was allowed to fly.**

"It's really nice, though I'm not a football player" David said

**Harry had caught Ron prodding Dean's poster of West Ham soccer team, trying to make the players move.**

People laughed

"I don't think it's going to work" Jane smiled at Ron, who was blushing but laughing as well.

**Neville had never been on a broomstick in his life, because his grandmother had never let him near one. Privately, Harry felt she'd had good reason, because Neville managed to have an extraordinary number of accidents even with both feet on the ground.**

"Sorry, you get it from me" Alice said, Neville smiled at her

"Don't worry you get used to it after a while"

"Tell me about it" Tonks muttered; Sirius laughed

"Do you still fall over every single thing in front of you?" He asked. Tonks glared at him and huffed. The younger people laughed.

"For your information, Sirius, I'm starting Auror training this year" She crossed her arms. Moody raised an eyebrow

"You're going to be an Auror?" He asked. Tonks jumped surprised that he was talking to her and nodded, she couldn't believe that one of the best Aurors ever showed interested in her becoming an Auror.

"Sometimes, I go talk to the new Aurors about some important stuff" He said "I can tell you some important stuff. Dark times may come any moment, we have to always be alert. We'll need a lot of qualified Aurors"

"That'd be amazing" Tonks said excitedly, dropping the book. People looked at the scene trying not to laugh. She blushed and started reading again.

**Hermione Granger was almost as nervous about flying as Neville was.**

Jane frowned, knowing what was coming next.

**This was something you couldn't learn by heart out of a book — not that she hadn't tried. At breakfast on Thursday she bored them all stupid with flying tips she'd gotten out of a library book called **_**Quidditch Through the Ages**_**.**

"Hey, the book is awesome" Sirius protested "It's the best book I've ever read"

"Padfoot, it's the only book you've ever read" Remus rolled his eyes. Fred and George started at him disappointedly.

"I can't believe that…"

"…you read a book"

They said and with that they laughed again.

**Neville was hanging on to her every word, desperate for anything that might help him hang on to his broomstick later, but everybody else was very pleased when Hermione's lecture was interrupted by the arrival of the mail.**

David's eyes narrowed, he liked most of these people and all but he didn't want Hermione to go somewhere where she doesn't have friends. He knows that she doesn't have any friends at her 'muggle' school either, but at least she has Cousin Grace who's pretty much like a sister to her.

**Harry hadn't had a single letter since Hagrid's note, something that Malfoy had been quick to notice, of course. Malfoy's eagle owl was always bringing him packages of sweets from home, which he opened gloatingly at the Slytherin table.**

"It's not a good thing, it will root his teeth"

**A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.**

"**It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things — this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red — oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "… you've forgotten something…"**

"I don't think it will help much, mum" Frank said "It doesn't tell you what you've forgotten"

"Yeah, but you'll try to remember" Augusta huffed.

**Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who was passing the Gryffindor table, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.**

"You better leave him alone" Frank growled

**Harry and Ron jumped to their feet. They were half hoping for a reason to fight Malfoy, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.**

"**What's going on?"**

"**Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."**

**Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table.**

"**Just looking," he said, and he sloped away with Crabbe and Goyle behind him.**

"Git"

**At three-thirty that afternoon, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance.**

**The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.**

James started to listen carefully, he knew Harry was going to be amazing on a broom he's a Potter after all.

**Their teacher, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.**

"Wow, that's cool" David said

"**Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."**

**Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.**

"That's because they're the school's brooms. Nobody uses them, just the first-years to learn how to fly" Tonks said

"**Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"**

"**UP" everyone shouted.**

**Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did.**

"Yes" James exclaimed "I knew it, you're natural" and Harry beamed at him, he just hoped he wasn't going to disappoint his father.

**Hermione Granger's had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. Perhaps brooms, like horses, could tell when you were afraid, **

"It kind of does, though it doesn't see if your scared, it sees If you have confident" Bill said

**thought Harry; there was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground.**

**Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years.**

"Hahah, loser" Fred cheered happily

"**Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle — three — two —"**

**But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.**

"Oh, Neville" Augusta sighed.

"**Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle — twelve feet — twenty feet. Harry saw his scared white face look down at the ground falling away, saw him gasp, slip sideways off the broom and —**

"Dear lord" Alice gasped

**WHAM — a thud and a nasty crack and Neville lay facedown on the grass in a heap.**

"Are you ok? Ah my god" Alice started looking for bruises on the boy's arm. He blushed,

"Mum, it hasn't happened yet" He said. Alice blushed

"Oh"

**His broomstick was still rising higher and higher, and started to drift lazily toward the forbidden forest and out of sight.**

**Madam Hooch was bending over Neville, her face as white as his.**

"**Broken wrist," Harry heard her mutter. "Come on, boy — it's all right, up you get."**

"Don't worry, Madame Pompey will fix in no time" Minerva said

**She turned to the rest of the class.**

"**None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."**

**Neville, his face tear-streaked, clutching his wrist, hobbled off with Madam Hooch, who had her arm around him.**

**No sooner were they out of earshot than Malfoy burst into laughter.**

"**Did you see his face, the great lump?"**

"Idiot, as if he would have been in any different state after that" Charlie hissed.

**The other Slytherins joined in.**

"**Shut up, Malfoy," snapped Parvati Patil.**

"**Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" said Pansy Parkinson, a hard-faced Slytherin girl. "Never thought **_**you'd **_**like fat little crybabies, Parvati."**

"**Look!" said Malfoy, darting forward and snatching something out of the grass. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."**

**The Remembrall glittered in the sun as he held it up.**

"**Give that here, Malfoy," said Harry quietly. Everyone stopped talking to watch.**

"And here we see James's genes" Lily sighed and so did Severus

**Malfoy smiled nastily.**

"**I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find — how about — up a tree?"**

"Foolish" Augusta muttered

"He's a coward that is" Moody grunted "I wish I could so something to him"

"**Give it **_**here**_**!" Harry yelled, but Malfoy had leapt onto his broomstick and taken off. He hadn't been lying, he **_**could **_**fly well.**

**Hovering level with the topmost branches of an oak he called, "Come and get it, Potter!"**

**Harry grabbed his broom.**

"No" Lily yelled

"_**No!" **_**shouted Hermione Granger. "Madam Hooch told us not to move — you'll get us all into trouble."**

"Yes, listen to her" Lily said "You don't even know how to fly yet"

"But he has Neville's Remembrall" Harry protested, knowing that his future-self probably did not hear Hermione.

**Harry ignored her. **

Lily glared at James "This is all your fault, the noble git part comes from you"

"Don't worry, Lils" James put a hand on her shoulder, she shook it off

"Don't worry! DON'T WORRY! Our son is about to kill himself in his first flying lesson and you tell me not to worry"

"Lily, first, did you see the way the broom flew to his hand, he's a natural. I bet he's a lot better than that excuse of a wizard" James said "And there are _seven_ books. He's not gonna die" He added. Lily still looked unconvinced but let it go. Tonks, who was finding the scene amusing, started reading again

**Blood was pounding in his ears. He mounted the broom and kicked hard against the ground and up, up he soared; air rushed through his hair, and his robes whipped out behind him — and in a rush of fierce joy he realized he'd found something he could do without being taught — this was easy, this was **_**wonderful**_**.**

"See, natural" James grinned. Harry was too, imaging how it must feel.

**He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.**

**He turned his broomstick sharply to face Malfoy in midair. Malfoy looked stunned.**

James looked smugly at Lily, who rolled her eyes. People chuckled

"**Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"**

"**Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, trying to sneer, but looking worried.**

**Harry knew, somehow, what to do. He leaned forward and grasped the broom tightly in both hands, and it shot toward Malfoy like a javelin. Malfoy only just got out of the way in time; Harry made a sharp about-face and held the broom steady. A few people below were clapping.**

James looked proud and Harry happy

"**No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called.**

**The same thought seemed to have struck Malfoy.**

"Coward" Hagrid scoffed

"**Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, and he threw the glass ball high into the air and streaked back toward the ground.**

**Harry saw, as though in slow motion, the ball rise up in the air and then start to fall. He leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down — next second he was gathering speed in a steep dive, racing the ball — wind whistled in his ears, mingled with the screams of people watching — he stretched out his hand — a foot from the ground he caught it, just in time to pull his broom straight, and he toppled gently onto the grass with the Remembrall clutched safely in his fist.**

"You're a seeker" Remus told Harry

"A what?" He asked confused. Sirius opened his mouth

"Oh, it's a…"

"There's no time for Quidditch talk" Remus said "We'll explain it after this chapter is done"

"**HARRY POTTER!"**

**His heart sank faster than he'd just dived. Professor McGonagall was running toward them.**

"Oh, no. I'm going to be expelled" Harry said unhappily as he looked at his parents sadly

"I guarantee you, that you won't be expelled for that, Mr. Potter" Albus chuckled, as Harry light up as if Christmas had come early.

**He got to his feet, trembling.**

"_**Never **_— **in all my time at Hogwarts —"**

**Professor McGonagall was almost speechless with shock, and her glasses flashed furiously, "— how **_**dare **_**you — might have broken your neck —"**

"Thank you, professor" Lily said, Minerva smiled and James shook his head.

"**It wasn't his fault, Professor —"**

"**Be quiet, Miss Patil —"**

"**But Malfoy —"**

"**That's **_**enough**_**, Mr. Weasley. Potter, follow me, now."**

**Harry caught sight of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle's triumphant faces as he left, walking numbly in Professor McGonagall's wake as she strode toward the castle. He was going to be expelled, he just knew it.**

"You're so optimistic, mate" Ron slapped him in the back.

**He wanted to say something to defend himself, but there seemed to be something wrong with his voice. Professor McGonagall was sweeping along without even looking at him; he had to jog to keep up. Now he'd done it. He hadn't even lasted two weeks. He'd be packing his bags in ten minutes. What would the Dursleys say when he turned up on the doorstep?**

Harry shuddered at the thought of going back to the Dursleys.

**Up the front steps, up the marble staircase inside, and still Professor McGonagall didn't say a word to him.**

"What are you going to do?" Arthur asked. Minerva smiled at him, she had an idea.

**She wrenched open doors and marched along corridors with Harry trotting miserably behind her. Maybe she was taking him to Dumbledore. He thought of Hagrid, expelled but allowed to stay on as gamekeeper. Perhaps he could be Hagrid's assistant. His stomach twisted as he imagined it, watching Ron and the others becoming wizards, while he stumped around the grounds carrying Hagrid's bag.**

"Can you stop with that?" Fred asked Harry "I gets kind of depressing after a while"

**Professor McGonagall stopped outside a classroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside.**

"**Excuse me, Professor Flitwick, could I borrow Wood for a moment?"**

"Wood like in Oliver Wood, Gryffindor's captain?" George let out. James's and Sirius's eyes popped out of their heads. Harry was going to be the youngest seeker in the century.

**Wood? thought Harry, bewildered; was Wood a cane she was going to use on him?**

"What?!" Minerva said affronted "Of course not, I don't hit my students"

**But Wood turned out to be a person, a burly fifth-year boy who came out of Flitwick's class looking confused.**

"**Follow me, you two," said Professor McGonagall, and they marched on up the corridor, Wood looking curiously at Harry.**

"**In here."**

**Professor McGonagall pointed them into a classroom that was empty except for Peeves, who was busy writing rude words on the blackboard.**

"**Out, Peeves!" she barked. Peeves threw the chalk into a bin, which clanged loudly, and he swooped out cursing. Professor McGonagall slammed the door behind him and turned to face the two boys.**

"**Potter, this is Oliver Wood. Wood — I've found you a Seeker."**

"YES" James and Sirius took Harry and threw him on their shoulders

"My son is on the team on his _first_ year" James yelled

"Yeeahh" Sirius cheered, Harry blushed. James and Sirius put him down and walked to Minerva, she eyed them suspiciously. They stopped at each of her sides and hugged her

"Would get off of me, Mr. Potter and Mr. Black" She exclaimed. They did so but were still grinning at her.

"Welcome to the team, Harry" George grinned at him

"You're at the team?" Harry asked

"Yup, we're beaters" Fred grinned at him. After most of the room gave Harry his congratulation on entering the team, Tonks started reading again.

**Wood's expression changed from puzzlement to delight.**

"**Are you serious, Professor?"**

"**Absolutely," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "The boy's a natural. I've never seen anything like it. Was that your first time on a broomstick, Potter?"**

James beamed at Minerva, who was starting to freak out at that

**Harry nodded silently. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but he didn't seem to be being expelled, and some of the feeling started coming back to his legs.**

"**He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive," Professor McGonagall told Wood. "Didn't even scratch himself. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it."**

"You're a seeker?" Harry asked

"Yup, could have entered on a professional team but well, I preferred the Dragons" He grinned at Harry. Molly sighed, she would have preferred Quidditch

**Wood was now looking as though all his dreams had come true at once.**

"**Ever seen a game of Quidditch, Potter?" he asked excitedly.**

"**Wood's captain of the Gryffindor team," Professor McGonagall explained.**

"**He's just the build for a Seeker, too," said Wood, now walking around Harry and staring at him. "Light —speedy — we'll have to get him a decent broom, Professor — a Nimbus Two Thousand or a Cleansweep Seven, I'd say."**

"**I shall speak to Professor Dumbledore and see if we can't bend the first-year rule.**

"You'll break the rules, that's not fair" Severus scared some people as he spoke, he actually did not want to comment on Potter's life much, but he as just as competitive as Minerva when it comes to thee House Cup and Quidditch Cup.

"Who told you that?" Minerva said innocently

**Heaven knows, we need a better team than last year. **_**Flattened **_**in that last match by Slytherin, I couldn't look Severus Snape in the face for weeks…"**

Severus looked smug, Sirius and James faked a gag

**Professor McGonagall peered sternly over her glasses at Harry.**

"**I want to hear you're training hard, Potter, or I may change my mind about punishing you."**

**Then she suddenly smiled.**

"**Your father would have been proud," she said. "He was an excellent Quidditch player himself."**

"That's right, I'm awesome" James grinned

"**You're **_**joking**_**."**

"Nope, I'm the best"

**It was dinnertime. Harry had just finished telling Ron what had happened when he'd left the grounds with Professor McGonagall. Ron had a piece of steak and kidney pie halfway to his mouth, but he'd forgotten all about it.**

"_**Seeker**_**?" he said. "But first years **_**never **_— **you must be the youngest house player in about —"**

" — **a century," said Harry, shoveling pie into his mouth. He felt particularly hungry after the excitement of the afternoon. "Wood told me."**

"Of course he did" Fred chuckled

"Thee guy's obsessed" George agreed

**Ron was so amazed, so impressed, he just sat and gaped at Harry.**

"**I start training next week," said Harry. "Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."**

"That is something you should learn, there are no secrets at Hogwarts" Xenophilius told Harry in a dreamy voice that he almost expected him to start declaiming some poems like those strange drama guy from movies.

**Fred and George Weasley now came into the hall, spotted Harry, and hurried over.**

"**Well done," said George in a low voice. "Wood told us. We're on the team too — Beaters."**

"**I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch cup for sure this year," said Fred. "We haven't won since Charlie left, **

"That's because you all are nothing without me" Charlie said smugly, Fred and George rolled their eyes.

**but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."**

"**Anyway, we've got to go, Lee Jordan reckons he's found a new secret passageway out of the school."**

"**Bet it's that one behind the statue of Gregory the Smarmy that we found in our first week. See you."**

"Oh, that one is really really _really_ good" Sirius grinned and James nodded

"Did you find it useful?" Remus asked with a playful smirk playing on his lips

"Totally" The twins copied his smirk as they laughed. Molly and Minerva glared at them.

**Fred and George had hardly disappeared when someone far less welcome turned up: Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.**

"**Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"**

"**You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," said Harry coolly. There was of course nothing at all little about Crabbe and Goyle, but as the High Table was full of teachers, neither of them could do more than crack their knuckles and scowl.**

"**I'd take you on anytime on my own," said Malfoy. "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only — no contact.**

"Don't you dare?" Lily snarled

**What's the matter? Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"**

"**Of course he has," said Ron, wheeling around. "I'm his second, who's yours?"**

Harry was about to ask what was a second but he didn't have chance to as Molly yelled

"No, you're not Ronald Weasley"

**Malfoy looked at Crabbe and Goyle, sizing them up.**

"**Crabbe," he said. "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."**

**When Malfoy had gone, Ron and Harry looked at each other.**

"**What is a wizard's duel?" said Harry. "And what do you mean, you're my second?"**

"**Well, a second's there to take over if you die," said Ron casually, getting started at last on his cold pie. Catching the look on Harry's face, he added quickly, "But people only die in proper duels, you know, with real wizards. The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."**

"That makes sense" Charlie said

"And it came from Ron. Wow" Fred teased

"**And what if I wave my wand and nothing happens?"**

"**Throw it away and punch him on the nose," Ron suggested.**

Most men laughed and Sirius even cheered

"Yeah, Go Ron"

But Molly glared at Ron

"You won't duel"

"**Excuse me."**

**They both looked up. It was Hermione Granger.**

"Great, maybe she'll be able to set some sense in you" Molly said, Hermione said

"I don't think I'll be able to, Mrs. Weasley" She had just met the boys that day but she could already see that they're headstrong.

"**Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" said Ron.**

**Hermione ignored him and spoke to Harry.**

"**I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying —"**

"**Bet you could," Ron muttered.**

David glared at Ron.

"— **and you **_**mustn't **_**go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."**

"**And it's really none of your business," said Harry.**

"**Good-bye," said Ron.**

Now, he was glaring at both of them as were Molly and Lily.

**All the same, it wasn't what you'd call the perfect end to the day, Harry thought, as he lay awake much later listening to Dean and Seamus falling asleep (Neville wasn't back from the hospital wing). Ron had spent all evening giving him advice such as "If he tries to curse you, you'd better dodge it, because I can't remember how to block them."**

"That's because you haven't learned that yet" Remus said

**There was a very good chance they were going to get caught by Filch or Mrs. Norris, and Harry felt he was pushing his luck, breaking another school rule today. **

That moment the Marauders shared a look 'The Cloak' What could have happened to it?

**On the other hand, Malfoy's sneering face kept looming up out of the darkness — this was his big chance to beat Malfoy face-to-face. He couldn't miss it.**

Lily turned to glare at James again.

"**Half-past eleven," Ron muttered at last, "we'd better go."**

**They pulled on their bathrobes, picked up their wands, and crept across the tower room, down the spiral staircase, and into the Gryffindor common room. A few embers were still glowing in the fireplace, turning all the armchairs into hunched black shadows. They had almost reached the portrait hole when a voice spoke from the chair nearest them, "I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry."**

**A lamp flickered on. It was Hermione Granger, wearing a pink bathrobe and a frown.**

"Don't get near them, Hermione" David said

"_**You!**_" **said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed!"**

"**I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, "Percy — he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."**

"Yes, you should've told me" Percy said "I'd help you"

**Harry couldn't believe anyone could be so interfering.**

"**Come on," he said to Ron. He pushed open the portrait of the Fat Lady and climbed through the hole.**

**Hermione wasn't going to give up that easily. She followed Ron through the portrait hole, hissing at them like an angry goose.**

"**Don't you **_**care **_**about Gryffindor, do you **_**only **_**care about yourselves, **_**I **_**don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."**

Jane raised an eyebrow at that and then a sad look came over her face, which she quickly hid. Hermione wasn't trying to do the right thing and win this house cup, she knew her daughter, she wanted to make some friends. All of her life, kids have been mean to her because she's smart and because of strange things that happened around her that now they know they were 'accidental magic', and now that she was in a place where she was not a freak, she wanted to make friends.

"**Go away."**

"**All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so —"**

**But what they were, they didn't find out. Hermione had turned to the portrait of the Fat Lady to get back inside and found herself facing an empty painting. The Fat Lady had gone on a nighttime visit and Hermione was locked out of Gryffindor tower.**

"I hate when she does that" Sirius complained "She sees that we went out, she sees that we won't take long but still she has leave the portrait"

"You shouldn't be out of bed that hour so it's not really her fault" Lily snapped

"**Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.**

"**That's your problem," said Ron. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."**

"Please tell me you're not going to follow them" David pleaded

**They hadn't even reached the end of the corridor when Hermione caught up with them.**

"**I'm coming with you," she said.**

"Argh" David let out

"Actually that's the best option" Tonks said "If she keeps standing there waiting for the Fat Lady to show up, she may get caught by Filch and then she'll definitely get in trouble."

"And what if he appears in the middle of the school?" He said

"They can hide" She said "There are a lot of hiding places at Hogwarts

"**You are **_**not**_**."**

"**D'you think I'm going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch me? If he finds all three of us I'll tell him the truth, that I was trying to stop you, and you can back me up."**

"**You've got some nerve —" said Ron loudly.**

"**Shut up, both of you!" said Harry sharply. "I heard something."**

**It was a sort of snuffling.**

"**Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.**

"I hate that cat" Most of the students and ex-students exclaimed

**It wasn't Mrs. Norris. It was Neville. **

"What are you doing there?" Alice asked

**He was curled up on the floor, fast asleep, but jerked suddenly awake as they crept nearer.**

"**Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."**

"I'll have trouble with that" Neville sighed

"**Keep your voice down, Neville. The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."**

"**How's your arm?" said Harry.**

"**Fine," said Neville, showing them. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."**

"A minute?" Jane asked

"Yeah, she has a spell…" Remus started but he didn't need to finish because she got

"Oh"

"**Good — well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later —"**

"**Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."**

**Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione and Neville.**

"**If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."**

"Don't you dare threaten my daughter?!" David yelled glaring at Ron with such a force that made him hide behind Charlie

"Relax, Mr. Granger. He's not threatening Hermione. It's like, you know, when your friend does something that pisses you off and you're not on the mood for that so you something like 'I am going to kill you' but you really don't. That's what it meant, wizards do that with curses too" Charlie said smoothly. David stared at him, narrowed his eyes but sat down again. He was still glaring at Ron, though.

When he saw it was safe, Ron went back to his seat and Charlie gave him a look that said 'I-saved-your-skin-you-own-me'

**Hermione opened her mouth, perhaps to tell Ron exactly how to use the Curse of the Bogies,**** but Harry hissed at her to be quiet and beckoned them all forward.**

**They flitted along corridors striped with bars of moonlight from the high windows. At every turn Harry expected to run into Filch or Mrs. Norris, but they were lucky. They sped up a staircase to the third floor and tiptoed toward the trophy room.**

**Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet.**

"Yet means that they won't come" Bill said "They just want you to get in trouble. Malfoy doesn't have the guts to duel"

**The crystal trophy cases glimmered where the moonlight caught them. Cups, shields, plates, and statues winked silver and gold in the darkness. They edged along the walls, keeping their eyes on the doors at either end of the room. Harry took out his wand in case Malfoy leapt in and started at once.**

**The minutes crept by.**

"**He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.**

**Then a noise in the next room made them jump. Harry had only just raised his wand when they heard someone speak — and it wasn't Malfoy.**

"**Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."**

"I hate how he talks to her as if she was human" Sirius said "And calls her sweet, she's as sweet as my mother"

**It was Filch speaking to Mrs. Norris. Horror-struck, Harry waved madly at the other three to follow him as quickly as possible; they scurried silently toward the door, away from Filch's voice. Neville's robes had barely whipped round the corner when they heard Filch enter the trophy room.**

"**They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "probably hiding."**

"**This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armor. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak and broke into a run he tripped, grabbed Ron around the waist, and the pair of them toppled right into a suit of armor. The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.**

"**RUN!" Harry yelled, and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following — they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor then another, Harry in the lead, without any idea where they were or where they were going — they ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway, hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom, which they knew was miles from the trophy room.**

"**I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double, wheezing and spluttering.**

"**I —**_**told **_— **you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I — told — you."**

"**We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."**

"Good idea"

"**Malfoy tricked you," Hermione said to Harry. "You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you — Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."**

**Harry thought she was probably right, but he wasn't going to tell her that.**

Hermione rolled her eyes at that

"**Let's go."**

**It wasn't going to be that simple. They hadn't gone more than a dozen paces when a doorknob rattled and something came shooting out of a classroom in front of them.**

**It was Peeves.**

"Oh no, Peeves can help you sometimes on that situation but other times…" James said

**He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.**

"**Shut up, Peeves — please — you'll get us thrown out."**

"Never tell him that, it will just excite him even more" Frank said

**Peeves cackled.**

"**Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."**

"**Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."**

"**Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."**

"**Get out of the way," snapped Ron, taking a swipe at Peeves this was a big mistake.**

"He'll so tell Filch now" Fred said

"**STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"**

**Ducking under Peeves, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door — and it was locked.**

"**This is it!" Ron moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"**

**They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could toward Peeves's shouts.**

**She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, "**_**Alohomora**_**!"**

"Useful charm" Charlie nodded

**The lock clicked and the door swung open — they piled through it, shut it quickly, and pressed their ears against it, listening.**

"Hummm, that's impressive Miss Granger, with Mr. Potter's wand, no least" Minerva said, the Grangers looked at her confused. She explained "A witch or a wizard works best with their own wand, so it's a bit more difficult to use another's wizard's wand. So it's impressive that she has done a charm we haven't studied yet with Potter's wand" As she finished, her parents beamed happily at Hermione.

"**Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying. "Quick, tell me."**

"**Say 'please.'"**

"**Don't mess with me, Peeves, now **_**where did they go**_**?"**

"**Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.**

"**All right —**_**please**_**."**

"**NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!"**

"You're lucky Peeves enjoys torturing Filch more than anything else" Tonks chuckled

**And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.**

"**He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay — get **_**off**_**, Neville!"**

**For Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's bathrobe for the last minute. "**_**What**_**?"**

**Harry turned around — and saw, quite clearly, what. For a moment, he was sure he'd walked into a nightmare — this was too much, on top of everything that had happened so far.**

**They weren't in a room, as he had supposed. They were in a corridor. The forbidden corridor on the third floor. And now they knew why it was forbidden.**

Minerva, Severus and Albus exchanged a look at that.

**They were looking straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog, a dog that filled the whole space between ceiling and floor. It had three heads. Three pairs of rolling, mad eyes; three noses, twitching and quivering in their direction; three drooling mouths, saliva hanging in slippery ropes from yellowish fangs.**

"Fluffy" Hagrid whispered happily, but low so no one would hear him.

"Oh my god, get out of there" Alice, Molly, Lily and Jane yelled and it echoed through the room as many people said it

**It was standing quite still, all six eyes staring at them, and Harry knew that the only reason they weren't already dead was that their sudden appearance had taken it by surprise, but it was quickly getting over that, there was no mistaking what those thunderous growls meant.**

**Harry groped for the doorknob — between Filch and death, he'd take Filch.**

"Good choice" Charlie said

**They fell backward — Harry slammed the door shut, and they ran, they almost flew, back down the corridor. Filch must have hurried off to look for them somewhere else, because they didn't see him anywhere, but they hardly cared — all they wanted to do was put as much space as possible between them and that monster. They didn't stop running until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady on the seventh floor.**

"**Where on earth have you all been?" she asked, looking at their bathrobes hanging off their shoulders and their flushed, sweaty faces.**

"**Never mind that — pig snout, pig snout," panted Harry, and the portrait swung forward. They scrambled into the common room and collapsed, trembling, into armchairs.**

**It was a while before any of them said anything. Neville, indeed, looked as if he'd never speak again.**

"At least you're safe" Bill said

"**What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" said Ron finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."**

"Yeah, what were you thinking?" Jane said

"I'm afraid I can't say anything, Mrs. Granger" Albus said

**Hermione had got both her breath and her bad temper back again. "You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" she snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"**

"The floor, you got to look at the floor?" Ron asked

"**The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."**

"**No, **_**not **_**the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."**

**She stood up, glaring at them.**

"**I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed — or worse, expelled. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."**

"I think you need to get your priorities straight" Sirius told her. David and Jane didn't like that either

**Ron stared after her, his mouth open.**

David didn't know why, he knew he shouldn't be worried about that yet, but that sentence gave him a weird feeling, as if he should be worried.

"**No, we don't mind," he said. "You'd think we dragged her along, wouldn't you."**

**But Hermione had given Harry something else to think about as he climbed back into bed. The dog was guarding something… What had Hagrid said? Gringotts was the safest place in the world for something you wanted to hide — except perhaps Hogwarts.**

**It looked as though Harry had found out where the grubby little package from vault seven hundred and thirteen was.**

"See what I meant about Potters and mysteries?" Remus told Hagrid

"It's the end of the chapter" Tonks said

"Oh, Can I read next?" Molly said

" 'Course" Tonks gave her the book


	11. Halloween

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

**Ok, first of all****, I'm sorry I did not update sooner. School was crazy this last month. I'll try to write more, and update as much as I can. Oh and I forgot to tell you about Ginny last chapter. I know that she has a strong mind and likes to joke and all but it will take her a while to comment more. As you know until book 4, she couldn't stay on the same room as Harry without looking like a tomato. So, it will take her a bit of courage to say something. Don't worry I won't make her stay quiet until book 4, maybe in the next one she'll start to let loose a bit since she'll play an important part and all. But in this one, she'll probably only say something on the most important parts and sometimes I'll write her reaction. **

**About the Dobby and Regulus thing. I'm still not sure about it, I don't know if I'll add anyone at all… when I decided I'll let you know. **

**That's it for now. I thank you all for the support and the reviews, thank you so much. Please keep R&R. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. **

Chapter 11:

Halloween

"**Halloween,"** Molly read

**Malfoy couldn't believe his eyes when he saw that Harry and Ron were still at Hogwarts the next day, looking tired but perfectly cheerful. **

**Indeed, by the next morning Harry and Ron thought that meeting the three-headed dog had been an excellent adventure, and they were quite keen to have another one. **

"Boys" Lily sighed as did Molly "If I don't be careful I'll have another Dragon Chaser"

"That'd be good, if you want Ron I can try to find something for you after you graduate" Charlie winked at Ron, who let out an "Awesome" Molly glared at them

"Absolutely not"

**In the meantime, Harry filled Ron in about the package that seemed to have been moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts, and they spent a lot of time wondering what could possibly need such heavy protection. **

Albus raised an eyebrow at that but told himself that there was no way two first-years would discover about the stone.

"**It's either really valuable or really dangerous," said Ron.**

"Or maybe it's both" James said

"**Or both," said Harry.**

**But as all they knew for sure about the mysterious object was that it was about two inches long, they didn't have much chance of guessing what it was without further clues. **

**Neither Neville nor Hermione showed the slightest interest in what lay underneath the dog and the trapdoor. **

"That's because they're smart" Lily said

**All Neville cared about was never going near the dog again. **

"That'd be nice" Neville said, he wasn't looking forward to see the dog.

**Hermione was now refusing to speak to Harry and Ron, but she was such a bossy know-it-all that they saw this as an added bonus. **

Hermione looked down at the floor, she was hoping Hogwarts would help her to fit in, but it looks like she was not going to be so lucky.

This comment earned both Harry and Ron glares from their mothers and David.

**All they really wanted now was a way of getting back at Malfoy, and to their great delight, just such a thing arrived in the mail about a week later. **

**As the owls flooded into the Great Hall as usual, everyone's attention was caught at once by a long, thin package carried by six large screech owls. Harry was just as interested as everyone else to see what was in this large parcel, and was amazed when the owls soared down and dropped it right in front of him, knocking his bacon to the floor. **

"What is that?" James asked excitedly

**They had hardly fluttered out of the way when another owl dropped a letter on top of the parcel. **

**Harry ripped open the letter first, which was lucky, because it said: **

_**DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE. **_

_**It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, **_

"YES"

_**but I don't want everybody knowing you've got a broomstick or they'll all want one. Oliver Wood will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o'clock for your first training session. **_

_**Professor McGonagall **_

"Minnie you are AWESOME" James said standing up to hug his old teacher again. Minerva smiled but stopped him. After he calmed down, Lily smiled at her favorite teacher and whispered 'Thank you'

**Harry had difficulty hiding his glee as he handed the note to Ron to read. **

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand!" Ron moaned enviously. "I've never even **_**touched **_**one." **

"That's so cool" Neville agreed

**They left the hall quickly, wanting to unwrap the broomstick in private before their first class, but halfway across the entrance hall they found the way upstairs barred by Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy seized the package from Harry and felt it.**

"**That's a broomstick," he said, throwing it back to Harry with a mixture of jealousy and spite on his face. "You'll be in for it this time, Potter, first years aren't allowed them." **

"Yeah..

**Ron couldn't resist it. **

"**It's not any old broomstick," he said, "it's a Nimbus Two Thousand. What did you say you've got at home, Malfoy, a Comet Two Sixty?" **

"I can't believe you have a Nimbus Two Thousand" George said "It's the best, you're going to be great at the team"

"This will be our year" Fred agreed, Harry smiled in anticipation. James and Sirius grinned proudly.

**Ron grinned at Harry. "Comets look flashy, but they're not in the same league as the Nimbus." **

"Tell me about it" Tonks said "An Eleven years-old has an Nimbus and I'm still with the Comet. How unfair is that?" She huffed playfully

"**What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle," Malfoy snapped back. "I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." **

Arthur frowned at that, he did not like the fact that he couldn't give his children everything he wanted, and he had a feeling this would come up again in the future.

**Before Ron could answer, Professor Flitwick appeared at Malfoy's elbow. **

"**Not arguing, I hope, boys?" he squeaked. **

"**Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," said Malfoy quickly.**

"That's not going to work, I must have told the staff so that there'd be no excuses." Minerva said

"**Yes, yes, that's right," said Professor Flitwick, beaming at Harry. "Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. And what model is it?" **

"**A Nimbus Two Thousand, it is," said Harry, fighting not to laugh at the look of horror on Malfoy's face. "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it," he added. **

**Harry and Ron headed upstairs, smothering their laughter at Malfoy's obvious rage and confusion. **

"**Well, it's true," Harry chortled as they reached the top of the marble staircase, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team…" **

"**So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?" came an angry voice from just behind them. Hermione was stomping up the stairs, looking disapprovingly at the package in Harry's hand.**

Hermione sighed lowly, how could she be so stupid? Well, not that she didn't think that because she did but that was not going to make them befriends her. What she was sure was what she was trying to do.

"**I thought you weren't speaking to us?" said Harry. **

"**Yes, don't stop now," said Ron, "it's doing us so much good."**

David growled, Ron turned red and bowed his head scared.

**Hermione marched away with her nose in the air. **

**Harry had a lot of trouble keeping his mind on his lessons that day. It kept wandering up to the dormitory where his new broomstick was lying under his bed, or straying off to the Quidditch field where he'd be learning to play that night. **

"We'll have to teach you how to play" James declared "That way when you go to Hogwarts you'll know what to expect"

"James, we don't even know if we'll remember this" Lily said

"What do you mean?" He asked confused

"The letters did not explain the purpose of this little reading" Moody explained "Only that it would explain the downfall of the Dark Lord to the people who deserved to know or played an important role on it. It didn't tell us what will happen after we finish the reading"

"Oh" James let out, "But we can still teach you anyway" he gave Harry an almost forced smile, it had always been a dream of his to teach his own son how to play Quidditch and pranks…

**He bolted his dinner that evening without noticing what he was eating, and then rushed upstairs with Ron to unwrap the Nimbus Two Thousand at last. **

"**Wow," Ron sighed, as the broomstick rolled onto Harry's bedspread. **

**Even Harry, who knew nothing about the different brooms, thought it looked wonderful. Sleek and shiny, with a mahogany handle, it had a long tail of neat, straight twigs and Nimbus Two Thousand written in gold near the top. **

The boys in the room all looked too excited. As the girls rolled their eyes.

**As seven o'clock drew nearer, Harry left the castle and set off in the dusk toward the Quidditch field. Held never been inside the stadium before. Hundreds of seats were raised in stands around the field so that the spectators were high enough to see what was going on. At either end of the field were three golden poles with hoops on the end. They reminded Harry of the little plastic sticks Muggle children blew bubbles through, except that they were fifty feet high. **

"Muggle children blow bubbles?" Charlie said "Weird"

"That's interesting" Arthur said, he opened his mouth to ask more about but Molly sighed

"Not now, Arthur" That shut him up immediately and made everyone start laughing, even Moody _almost_ cracked up an smile.

**Too eager to fly again to wait for Wood, Harry mounted his broomstick and kicked off from the ground. What a feeling — he swooped in and out of the goal posts and then sped up and down the field. The Nimbus Two Thousand turned wherever he wanted at his lightest touch. **

James and Sirius looked so excited that they were almost bouncing on their seat. Harry was grinning, he couldn't wait to fly.

"**Hey, Potter, come down!" **

**Oliver Wood had arrived. He was carrying a large wooden crate under his arm. Harry landed next to him. **

"**Very nice," said Wood, his eyes glinting. "I see what McGonagall meant… you really are a natural. I'm just going to teach you the rules this evening, then you'll be joining team practice three times a week." **

**He opened the crate. Inside were four different-sized balls. **

"You play with four balls?" David asked "Wow"

"**Right," said Wood. "Now, Quidditch is easy enough to understand, even if it's not too easy to play. There are seven players on each side. Three of them are called Chasers." **

"I'm a Chaser" James exclaimed excitedly

"So am I" Frank decided to joke too.

"**Three Chasers," Harry repeated, as Wood took out a bright red ball about the size of a soccer ball. **

"**This ball's called the Quaffle," said Wood. "The Chasers throw the Quaffle to each other and try and get it through one of the hoops to score a goal. Ten points every time the Quaffle goes through one of the hoops. Follow me?" **

"It sounds like basketball with hoops" David commented

"What's that?" Arthur asked curiously

"It's an sport…" David explained "Played by muggles. It's really simple, the…"

"David, honey, I don't think we need an speech about basketball" Jane said trying to hide her amusement, it's true that Hermione got the 'everything-has-to-be-perfect-do-I'll-discover-exactly-how-it-is' from her, but this way of making one-hour speeches about everything was from David who finds almost everything _fascinating. _

"**The Chasers throw the Quaffle and put it through the hoops to score," Harry recited. "So — that's sort of like basketball on broomsticks with six hoops, isn't it?" **

"It looks like it really is like basketball" Arthur commented

"**What's basketball?" said Wood curiously. **

"**Never mind," said Harry quickly. **

"**Now, there's another player on each side who's called the Keeper — I'm Keeper for Gryffindor. I have to fly around our hoops and stop the other team from scoring." **

"Now it sounds like football" David said

"**Three Chasers, one Keeper," said Harry, who was determined to remember it all. "And they play with the Quaffle. Okay, got that. So what are they for?" He pointed at the three balls left inside the box. **

"**I'll show you now," said Wood. "Take this." **

**He handed Harry a small club, a bit like a short baseball bat. **

"**I'm going to show you what the Bludgers do," Wood said. "These two are the Bludgers." **

**He showed Harry two identical balls, jet black and slightly smaller than the red Quaffle. Harry noticed that they seemed to be straining to escape the straps holding them inside the box. **

"**Stand back," Wood warned Harry. He bent down and freed one of the Bludgers. **

"Why do I have a feeling that it is dangerous?" Jane asked

"Because it is" Fred grinned

"Yeah, a hit in the head is a perfect ticket to the Hospital Wing" George added. Jane paled.

"Fred, George" Molly scolded

"Relax, Mrs. Granger" Minerva said as she glared at the boys "At Hogwarts, we do our best to keep that from happening, so I'm sure that if Miss Granger chooses to play she'll be safe"

"Yeah, mom, relax it's not like I'll ever be able to play anyway" Hermione assured her mother. "I already suck at sports with my feet on the ground, imagine flying"

**At once, the black ball rose high in the air and then pelted straight at Harry's face. Harry swung at it with the bat to stop it from breaking his nose, and sent it zigzagging away into the air — it zoomed around their heads and then shot at Wood, who dived on top of it and managed to pin it to the ground. **

"**See?" Wood panted, forcing the struggling Bludger back into the crate and strapping it down safely. "The Bludgers rocket around, trying to knock players off their brooms. That's why you have two Beaters on each team — the Weasley twins are ours — **

"You're any good?" James asked

"Yup. The Bests" Fred said

"We really rock" George said.

**it's their job to protect their side from the Bludgers and try and knock them toward the other team. So — think you've got all that?" **

"**Three Chasers try and score with the Quaffle; the Keeper guards the goal posts; the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team," Harry reeled off. **

"**Very good," said Wood. **

"**Er — have the Bludgers ever killed anyone?" Harry asked, hoping he sounded offhand. **

"Not at Hogwarts" Frank said

"**Never at Hogwarts. We've had a couple of broken jaws but nothing worse than that. Now, the last member of the team is the Seeker. That's you. And you don't have to worry about the Quaffle or the Bludgers —" **

"— **unless they crack my head open."**

Harry paled. George noticed that

"Relax, Harry, we won't let it get to you" He said. Harry have him an nervous smile

"**Don't worry, the Weasleys are more than a match for the Bludgers — I mean, they're like a pair of human Bludgers themselves."**

"Hey, I take offence to that" Fred said

"I'm not so sure about that…" George said "It'd be kind of cool to be a Bludger"

"You have a point" Fred laughed

**Wood reached into the crate and took out the fourth and last ball. Compared with the Quaffle and the Bludgers, it was tiny, about the size of a large walnut. It was bright gold and had little fluttering silver wings. **

"_**This**_**," said Wood, "is the Golden Snitch, and it's the most important ball of the lot. It's very hard to catch because it's so fast and difficult to see. It's the Seeker's job to catch it. You've got to weave in and out of the Chasers, Beaters, Bludgers, and Quaffle to get it before the other team's Seeker, because whichever Seeker catches the Snitch wins his team an extra hundred and fifty points, so they nearly always win. **

**That's why Seekers get fouled so much. A game of Quidditch only ends when the Snitch is caught, so it can go on for ages — I think the record is three months, they had to keep bringing on substitutes so the players could get some sleep. **

"**Well, that's it any questions?" **

**Harry shook his head. He understood what he had to do all right, it was doing it that was going to be the problem.**

"Relax, I wouldn't put on the team if I wasn't sure you could do it" Minerva said

"**We won't practice with the Snitch yet," said Wood, carefully shutting it back inside the crate, "it's too dark, we might lose it. Let's try you out with a few of these." **

**He pulled a bag of ordinary golf balls out of his pocket and a few minutes later, he and Harry were up in the air, Wood throwing the golf balls as hard as he could in every direction for Harry to catch. **

**Harry didn't miss a single one, **

"That's my boy" James said proudly

**and Wood was delighted. After half an hour, night had really fallen and they couldn't carry on. **

"**That Quidditch Cup'll have our name on it this year," said Wood happily as they trudged back up to the castle. "I wouldn't be surprised if you turn out better than Charlie Weasley, and he could have played for England if he hadn't gone off chasing dragons."**

"Humm, maybe I should give you some tips then" Charlie grinned

**Perhaps it was because he was now so busy, what with Quidditch practice three evenings a week on top of all his homework, but Harry could hardly believe it when he realized that he'd already been at Hogwarts two months. The castle felt more like home than Privet Drive ever had. **

"I'd bet" Lily murmured

**His lessons, too, were becoming more and more interesting now that they had mastered the basics.**

**On Halloween morning they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor Flitwick announced in Charms that he thought they were ready to start making objects fly, something they had all been dying to try since they'd seen him make Neville's toad zoom around the classroom. **

**Professor Flitwick put the class into pairs to practice. Harry's partner was Seamus Finnigan (which was a relief, because Neville had been trying to catch his eye).**

Neville bowed his head, Augusta sighed shaking her head, Charlie frowned at her. How could a grandmother treat her grandchild like that? Couldn't she see that he needed support. Alice and Frank hugged their son, unhappy that they weren't there to help him out.

**Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. **

David frowned, he did not have a good feeling about that.

**It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione was angrier about this.**

Now, he was satisfied, she wasn't happy to be with him. He hoped it would stay like that.

**She hadn't spoken to either of them since the day Harry's broomstick had arrived.**

"**Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor**

**Flitwick, perched on top of his pile of books as usual. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too — never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."**

**It was very difficult. **

**Harry and Seamus swished and flicked, but the feather they were supposed to be sending skyward just lay on the desktop. Seamus got so impatient that he prodded it with his wand and set fire to it — Harry had to put it out with his hat.**

"It sounds dangerous" Jane said.

"Oh, it's not. It's just that some people have some accidents. But that's why they are there. Believe me, if they did not train the results would be disastrous" Remus said

**Ron, at the next table, wasn't having much more luck.**

"**Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.**

"**You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione snap. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."**

"**You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.**

"Bad move" Bill said "Only dare someone to do it, if you know they'll fail…"

**Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

**Their feather rose off the desk and hovered about four feet above their heads.**

"**Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"**

Jane and David were smiling proudly. Hermione was beaming

**Ron was in a very bad mood by the end of the class.**

"**It's no wonder no one can stand her," he said to Harry as they pushed their way into the crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."**

That made her smile fade. Molly glared at Ron, as well as David and Jane. Ron looked ashamed

**Someone knocked into Harry as they hurried past him. It was Hermione. Harry caught a glimpse of her face — and was startled to see that she was in tears.**

David was now very red in the face, if he was a wizard Ron would already be on fire. Hermione cursed herself, why did she have to be so emotional, now her father would want to kill Ron and she knew that wouldn't end up well.

"**I think she heard you."**

"**So?" said Ron, but he looked a bit uncomfortable. "She must've noticed she's got no friends."**

"Ronald" Molly snarled, Arthur looked disappointed and everyone looked tense, ready for an explosion from the parents

**Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Harry and Ron overheard Parvati Patil telling her friend Lavender that Hermione was crying in the girls' bathroom and wanted to be left alone. **

David couldn't take it, he stood up and started yelling "WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" He knew it might seem like on overreaction but all of Hermione's life, she had been made fun of and said as the 'weirdo' just because there was something in her that was different and adding the fact that she was smarter than most people her age just made it worst. That facts made him super protective over her and hearing that a boy was making her _cry._ This was suppose to be her fresh start, her change to be normal.

"YOU CAN'T MAKE MY GIRL CRY LIKE THAT?!" He shouted, Ron backed away hiding himself behind Bill. "OH, YOU…"

"DAD, STOP" Hermione interrupted him "Stop" She said

"B-But…" David was awestruck "He made you cry"

"Still, that's not a reason for you to hit a kid, dad" Hermione said "I think you need to learn that I can defend myself."

"But Hermione"

"No, dad… Just leave it alone" Hermione said as she huffed and to piss her father off, she sat next to Ron.

"Hermione…"

"Would you please keep reading, Mrs. Weasley?" Hermione asked politely

"What.. Oh, of course my dear" Molly said. As the attention left them, Ron whispered to Hermione lowly

"Thanks for saving my skin, I'm sorry I said that stuff" He said, red in the face, he knew she had only fought with her father to save his skin and felt bad he said that stuff even if he hadn't done it yet

"It's ok" Hermione said

**Ron looked still more awkward at this, but a moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.**

David couldn't help but glare at them.

**A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet.**

**Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll — in the dungeons — thought you ought to know."**

"A Troll? They exist?" Jane paled, this was not a good sign.

**He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.**

**There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence.**

"**Prefects," he rumbled, "lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"**

**Percy was in his element.**

"Of course…" Fred started trying to easy the tension in the air that was created by David and Hermione but a glare from his mother stopped him.

"**Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"**

"**How could a troll get in?" Harry asked as they climbed the stairs.**

"That's a good question" Remus said

"You have to be careful, maybe there's someone in there that wants to kill the children or an ex-death eater that wants to revenge his master's death and kill the Potter boy" Moody said.

Molly, Alice, Jane and Lily looked at him, scared. Minerva glared at Moody.

"What? Don't give me that look, they have to be always alert" He growled

"**Don't ask me, they're supposed to be really stupid," said Ron. "Maybe Peeves let it in for a Halloween joke."**

**They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Harry suddenly grabbed Ron's arm.**

"**I've just thought — Hermione."**

"Oh, no" Jane gasped

"**What about her?"**

"**She doesn't know about the troll."**

**Ron bit his lip.**

"**Oh, all right," he snapped. "But Percy'd better not see us."**

David raised his eyebrows at this, they were really going to save her?

**Ducking down, they joined the Hufflepuffs going the other way, slipped down a deserted side corridor, and hurried off toward the girls' bathroom. They had just turned the corner when they heard quick footsteps behind them.**

"**Percy!" hissed Ron, pulling Harry behind a large stone griffin.**

**Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.**

"**What's he doing?" Harry whispered. "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"**

"Yes, what are you doing?" Moody asked suspiciously

"I don't know" Severus stated "Maybe I'm going to handle the Troll"

"**Search me."**

**Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps.**

"**He's heading for the third floor," Harry said, but Ron held up his hand.**

Moody gave Severus a look by that. Sirius would have liked to say something but since Moody already did it…

"**Can you smell something?"**

**Harry sniffed and a foul stench reached his nostrils, a mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean.**

**And then they heard it — a low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. Ron pointed — at the end of a passage to the left, something huge was moving toward them. They shrank into the shadows and watched as it emerged into a patch of moonlight.**

**It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.**

Jane shuddered at the thought of it going after Hermione.

**The troll stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.**

"**The keys in the lock," Harry muttered. "We could lock it in."**

"Are you crazy? That's the girls' bathroom!" Tonks yelled

Ron and Harry gave each other a nervous look.

"**Good idea," said Ron nervously.**

**They edged toward the open door, mouths dry, praying the troll wasn't about to come out of it. With one great leap, Harry managed to grab the key, slam the door, and lock it.**

"**Yes!"**

"No!"

**Flushed with their victory, they started to run back up the passage, but as they reached the corner they heard something that made their hearts stop — a high, petrified scream — and it was coming from the chamber they'd just chained up.**

Everybody paled by that, they did not know what to expect, the girl's life was on the hands of two first years.

"**Oh, no," said Ron, pale as the Bloody Baron.**

"**It's the girls' bathroom!" Harry gasped.**

"**Hermione!" they said together.**

**It was the last thing they wanted to do, but what choice did they have? **

**Wheeling around, they sprinted back to the door and turned the key, fumbling in their panic. Harry pulled the door open and they ran inside.**

**Hermione Granger was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking the sinks off the walls as it went. **

"Oh, dear" Molly exclaimed

"**Confuse it!" Harry said desperately to Ron, and, seizing a tap, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.**

**The troll stopped a few feet from Hermione. It lumbered around, blinking stupidly, to see what had made the noise. Its mean little eyes saw Harry. It hesitated, then made for him instead, lifting its club as it went.**

"**Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its ugly snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.**

"There's no way you can handle it, run" Charlie said

"**Come on, run, run!" Harry yelled at Hermione, trying to pull her toward the door, but she couldn't move, she was still flat against the wall, her mouth open with terror.**

"You always freeze in the face of danger" David commented, little did he know that this would have to change soon.

**The shouting and the echoes seemed to be driving the troll berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape.**

**Harry then did something that was both very brave and very stupid:**

Lily groaned, if he was anything like James…

**He took a great running jump and managed to fasten his arms around the troll's neck from behind. The troll couldn't feel Harry hanging there, but even a troll will notice if you stick a long bit of wood up its nose, and Harry's wand had still been in his hand when he'd jumped – it had gone straight up one of the troll's nostrils.**

"Are you crazy?" Lily let out

**Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its club, with Harry clinging on for dear life; any second, the troll was going to rip him off or catch him a terrible blow with the club.**

**Hermione had sunk to the floor in fright; Ron pulled out his own wand — not knowing what he was going to do he heard himself cry the first spell that came into his head: "Wingardium Leviosa!"**

"Why the hell are you doing an spell you can't do?!" Sirius said

**The club flew suddenly out of the troll's hand, rose high, high up into the air, **

"Looks like he did it after all" Bill said a but amused of how his little brother learned the spell because of a girl…

**turned slowly over — and dropped, with a sickening crack, onto its owner's head. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.**

**Harry got to his feet. He was shaking and out of breath. Ron was standing there with his wand still raised, staring at what he had done.**

**It was Hermione who spoke first.**

"**Is it — dead?"**

"Probably not" Minerva said

"**I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."**

**He bent down and pulled his wand out of the troll's nose. It was covered in what looked like lumpy gray glue.**

"Eww"

"**Urgh — troll boogers."**

**He wiped it on the troll's trousers.**

**A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.**

"How can a teacher that is suppose to help them defend themselves be so scared?" Frank said

**Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen her look so angry. Her lips were white. **

**Hopes of winning fifty points for Gryffindor faded quickly from Harry's mind.**

"You almost died and that's what on your mind?!" Alice shook her head

"**What on earth were you thinking of?" said Professor McGonagall, with cold fury in her voice. Harry looked at Ron, who was still standing with his wand in the air. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"**

Minerva frowned at that, she had a feeling they'd lie to her, and she hates when that happen.

**Snape gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. He wished Ron would put his wand down.**

**Then a small voice came out of the shadows.**

"**Please, Professor McGonagall — they were looking for me."**

"I can't believe this" Some people exclaimed

"You're actually lying to a teacher?!" David exclaimed, that's something he never thought he'd see his daughter do. Other had similar reactions;

"Wow, that's a new one" Sirius said. Hermione looked at Minerva to see if she was mad, but the woman only had a frown on her face, she did not like it but she could understand what the girl was feeling.

"**Miss Granger!"**

**Hermione had managed to get to her feet at last.**

"**I went looking for the troll because I — I thought I could deal with it on my own — you know, because I've read all about them."**

**Ron dropped his wand. Hermione Granger, telling a downright lie to a teacher?**

People laughed at Ron's reaction.

"**If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."**

**Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.**

"I'm sure we won't do well" Harry laughed

"**Well — in that case…" said Professor McGonagall, staring at the three of them, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own?"**

**Hermione hung her head. Harry was speechless. Hermione was the last person to do anything against the rules, and here she was, pretending she had, to get them out of trouble. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.**

People laughed again at that, expect for Severus who did not find it funny at all and Hermione who hated to break the rules.

"You have one weird sense of humor, Harry" Tonks said

"**Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses."**

"You know, she must like you, Hermione" Sirius commented. Hermione looked at him intrigued

"What?"

"She was easy on you" He explained "Usually Minnie's more severe. She was easy on you"

**Hermione left.**

**Professor McGonagall turned to Harry and Ron.**

"**Well, I still say you were lucky, but not many first years could have taken on a full-grown mountain troll. You each win Gryffindor five points. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this. You may go."**

**They hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had climbed two floors up. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else.**

"**We should have gotten more than ten points," Ron grumbled.**

"That's true" Albus said "It's quite impressive for two first years to beat a Troll"

Molly and Lily looked proud but did not show since they were not proud of the fact they had hurt Hermione.

"**Five, you mean, once she's taken off Hermione's."**

"**Good of her to get us out of trouble like that," Ron admitted. "Mind you, we did save her."**

David glared

"**She might not have needed saving if we hadn't locked the thing in with her," Harry reminded him.**

He nodded agreeing, he wanted to add that she wouldn't need saving if they hadn't been mean to her in first place, but he knew Hermione could be stubborn and this comment would make her upset with him.

**They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady.**

"**Pig snout," they said and entered.**

**The common room was packed and noisy. Everyone was eating the food that had been sent up. Hermione, however, stood alone by the door, waiting for them. There was a very embarrassed pause. Then, none of them looking at each other, they all said "Thanks," and hurried off to get plates.**

**But from that moment on, Hermione Granger became their friend. **

"What?!" David exclaimed "Just like that"

**There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.**

He sighed, they had a point. Hermione gave him a look. He sighed again;

"Boys," he said. Harry and Ron looked at each other and then at him "I'm sorry, I overreacted. I was just trying to protect my little girl. I hope you understand"

"We do, sir" The two boys chorused. Ron's older brothers tried not to laugh at how pathetic their brother looked

"Thanks for saving her life" David said. Hermione stood up and kissed his cheek. "Thanks, Daddy"

"It's ok" David said but then his expression changed "But if you ever make her cry again, I'm going to make you regret it!"

Harry and Ron backed away, Hermione cried "DAD" and the rest of the room laughed at the scene

"What, Hermione?" David defended himself "You're being friends with two boys and soon they'll be teenagers, they'll start thinking with their hormones…" David was not able to finish his sentence because a). Hermione, Ron and Harry were so red that they might have exploded in embarrassment. C'mon they had just met, b). everyone started laughing so hard that no body could hear what anyone had to say and c). Jane hit him in the head what just made people laugh harder.

After they calmed down, Molly looked at the clock and exclaimed

"Oh, dear god, it's almost midday. You kids must be starving" She said

"How about we read one more chapter and then we'll eat something" Minerva suggested

"That sounds good" Jane said "Do you mind if I read?"

"No, here you are" Molly handed her the book.


	12. Quidditch

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

**Hey guys, Thanks for supporting me! ****I'd like to say that I'm going to finish the 7 books. I know that most people who finished updated regularly, I won't be able to do that but I'll update as much as I can. It may take me a while but I'll finish the 7 books. **

**Another thing, to get things a little more interesting I decided to start a small contest. Here's the thing: I'll ask you something about what you think will happen. If you get it right, when this story is finished I'll send you the first chapter of '**Reading Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets**', the ****entire**** chapter. You'll have until the end of this book to answer the question. **

'**Who will figure out who the 'Golden Trio' is and when?'**

**The winner has to get both right, if nobody gets when right, then the winner will be the one who gets closer to it. If you're reviewing as anonymous, send me your e-mail and I'll send it. Any questions, feel free to ask. **

**Now enjoy the chapter. **

Chapter 12:

Quidditch

**"Quidditch."**Jane read, as shouts of 'Yeahh' echoed through the room from most boys.

**As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots.**

**The Quidditch season had begun. **

More cheering came from mostly James, Sirius, Tonks and the Twins

**On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. **

"That's always a classical" Charlie said

"Why?" David asked

"Well…" Remus said "As you know Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other but it's against the school rules to hex each other…"

"Even through most people just ignore that" James chuckled

"So they take out the… anger in the Quidditch pinch" Remus finished

"In other words, it's the most violent game" Sirius translated, receiving a glare from his friend.

**If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the house championship.**

**Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harr****y should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, **

"That'd because there's no way you can keep a secret at Hogwarts, especially when it's something about Quidditch" Bill said

**and Harry didn't know which was worse — people telling him he'd be brilliant or people telling him they'd be running around underneath him holding a mattress.**

"Why would you feel bad about people saying you'll do great?" Percy asked, not understanding Harry's philosophy

"Because if I do bad, they'll be disappointed" Harry explained.

**It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn't know how he'd have gotten through all his homework without her, **

"Nice to know why you like her" David glared at Harry.

**what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.**

"The only book worth reading" Sirius said. Hermione and Remus shook their heads.

**Harry learned that there were seven hundred ways of committing a Quidditch foul and that all of them had happened during a World Cup match in 1473; that Seekers were usually the smallest and fastest players, and that most serious Quidditch accidents seemed to happen to them; that although people rarely died playing Quidditch, referees had been known to vanish and turn up months later in the Sahara Desert.**

"You know, Hermione, I'm glad you don't like sports" Jane said

**Hermione had become a bit more relaxed about breaking rules since Harry and Ron had saved her from the mountain troll, and she was much nicer for it.**

Some people chuckled, David even found it amusing until Tonks laughed

"I think you boys may be a bad influence on her" This sentence took all of the amusement on him, especially because he knew that she was nicer for it because she just wanted friends.

**The day before Harry's first Quidditch match the three of them were out in the freezing courtyard during break, and she had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.**

"Humm, that's impressive" Minerva said, she wasn't happy that a student with so much potential was being corrupted much like Remus Lupin but still she couldn't deny the girl was talented. 

**They were standing with their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. **

"Great, come and spoil the fun" Sirius sighed.

**Harry noticed at once that Snape was limping. Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer together to block the fire from view; they were sure it wouldn't be allowed. **

"It is not" Severus said

**Unfortunately, something about their guilty faces caught Snape's eye. He limped over. He hadn't seen the fire, but he seemed to be looking for a**** reason to tell them off anyway.**

"**What's that you've got there, Potter?"**

**It was Quidditch Through the Ages. Harry showed him.**

"**Library books are not to be taken outside the school," said Snape. "Give it to me. Five points from Gryffindor."**

"That's not a rule" Lily glared at Severus and for the first time talked to him, looking in his eyes, they were cold and almost lifeless, there was nothing there that reminded her of the little boy she used to be friends with "A lot of students take the books to read under one of threes or to study outside with their friends"

"**He's just made that rule up," Harry muttered angrily as Snape limped away. "Wonder what's wrong with his leg?"**

"I hope it's hurting him" George muttered

"George" Molly scolded

"**Dunno, but I hope it's really hurting him," said Ron bitterly.**

"Ronald" Molly said unhappily. George laughed and high-fived his younger brother. Molly turned to him

"Look at the example you're giving your brother" She huffed but the boys just ignored. Jane, glad she had a responsible baby girl, started reading again.

**The Gryffindor common room was very noisy that evening. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat together next to a window. Hermione was checking Harry and Ron's Charms homework for them. She would never let them copy ("How will you learn?"), but by asking her to read it through, they got the right answers anyway.**

"You know, James, she's kind of reminding me of someone" Sirius grinned

"Yeah, another know-it-all, that has been corrupted by his best friends" James grinned too.

"Wonder who it might be" Sirius said, as Remus rolled his eyes and Hermione blushed.

**Harry felt restless. He wanted Quidditch Through the Ages back, to take his mind off his nerves about tomorrow. Why should he be afraid of Snape? **

"Yeah, Harry. You don't need to be afraid of Snivellus" Sirius said "He's a stupid git that doesn't like to wash his hair"

**Getting up, he told Ron and Hermione he was going to ask Snape if he could have it.**

"**Better you than me," they said together, but Harry had an idea that Snape wouldn't refuse if there were other teachers listening.**

**He made his way down to the staffroom and knocked. There was no answer. He knocked again. Nothing.**

**Perhaps Snape had left the book in there? It was worth a try. He pushed the door ajar and peered inside – and a horrible scene met his eyes.**

**Snape and Filch were inside, alone. **

"Oh, the horror" Fred and George covered their eyes joking, people laughed. Severus glared at them.

**Snape was holding his robes above his knees. **

"Eww…" The twins exclaimed "Snape and Filch are having an affair… how disgusting"

"HOW DARE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?" Severus yelled.

"Aww. C'mon, Snivelly. Just because you're gay it doesn't mean you have to yell" Sirius said in a baby voice as half-glared at Severus, who stood up and yelled

"I'm not gay and even if I was I wasn't the one who betrayed my best friend" By this time, Sirius had already stood up as well. They were facing each other. Wands on each other's face. Minerva stood up

"Mr. Black, Mr. Snape" She exclaimed. "I can't believe that you are acting like silly school boys. You have to learn how to out your grudge aside and act like mature adults. You have to set a good example for the kids"

Sirius let out a smile "It's been a while since I last received a lecture from Minnie" He said. Minerva blushed. Severus half-groaned and half-sighed, thought it shouldn't surprise him. Black and his gang always get away…

"Er… I think It's best to keep reading" Jane announced awkwardly.

**One of his legs was bloody and mangled. Filch was handing Snape bandages.**

"**Blasted thing," Snape was saying. "How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads at once?"**

James wanted to ask why he was trying to pass through the dog but since the atmosphere was still tense from Sirius's last 'argument' he preferred not risk it.

**Harry tried to shut the door quietly, but —**

"**POTTER!"**

**Snape's face was twisted with fury as he dropped his robes quickly to hide his leg. Harry gulped.**

"**I just wondered if I could have my book back."**

"**GET OUT! OUT! "**

**Harry left, before Snape could take any more points from Gryffindor. He sprinted back upstairs.**

"**Did you get it?" Ron asked as Harry joined them. "What's the matter?"**

**In a low whisper, Harry told them what he'd seen.**

"**You know what this means?" he finished breathlessly. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him — he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick he let that troll in, to make a diversion!"**

"That sounds about right" Sirius muttered as Moody looked at Snape suspiciously, but still something didn't feel right…

**Hermione's eyes were wide.**

"**No — he wouldn't," she said. "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."**

"I'm not trying to steal anything" Severus protested

"**Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," snapped Ron. "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape. But what's he after? What's that dog guarding?"**

"The Philosopher's Stone, of course" Moody grunted. Albus sighed, it was only matter of time for someone to voice it.

"But what is the Philosopher's Stone?" David asked, from the look on people's faces they expected it, I mean, taking the book title it's kind of obvious but it didn't look like they knew what it was.

"It's a stone created by Nicholas Flannel that origins the elixir of life. An elixir that permits you to live no matter what happens" Minerva explained

**Harry went to bed with his head buzzing with the same question. Neville was snoring loudly, but Harry couldn't sleep. He tried to empty his mind — he needed to sleep, he had to, he had his first Quidditch match in a few hours – but the expression on Snape's face when Harry had seen his leg wasn't easy to forget.**

**The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everyone looking forward to a good Quidditch match.**

"**You've got to eat some breakfast."**

"**I don't want anything."**

"**Just a bit of toast," wheedled Hermione.**

"She's right, Harry" Lily said "You should eat"

"**I'm not hungry."**

**Harry felt terrible. In an hour's time he'd be walking onto the field.**

"**Harry, you need your strength," said Seamus Finnigan. "Seekers are always the ones who get clobbered by the other team."**

"That helps a lot" Harry said sarcastically.

"**Thanks, Seamus," said Harry, watching Seamus pile ketchup on his sausages.**

"Who eats ketchup in breakfast?" Jane asked "It's gross and unhealthy"

**By eleven o'clock the whole school seemed to be out in the stands around the Quidditch pitch. Many students had binoculars. The seats might be raised high in the air, but it was still difficult to see what was going on sometimes.**

"I love these days" Tonks commented

"Yeah, everybody seems so cheerful" Charlie agreed.

**Ron and Hermione joined Neville, Seamus, and Dean the West Ham fan up in the top row. As a surprise for Harry, they had painted a large banner on one of the sheets Scabbers had ruined. **

"That's so sweet" Lily smiled at two kids, that were smiling as well. Molly nodded approvingly.

**It said Potter for President, and Dean, who was good at drawing, had done a large Gryffindor lion underneath. Then Hermione had performed a tricky little charm so that the paint flashed different colors.**

Minerva smiled at how brightly Hermione was.

**Meanwhile, in the locker room, Harry and the rest of the team were changing into their scarlet Quidditch robes (Slytherin would be playing in green).**

**Wood cleared his throat for silence.**

"**Okay, men," he said.**

"**And women," said Chaser Angelina Johnson.**

"Oh, It's Angie" Fred said

"Who's that?" Sirius smirked "Your girlfriend"

"Not really" Fred grinned, he quite liked Angelina but they weren't there…

"**And women," Wood agreed. "This is it."**

"**The big one," said Fred Weasley.**

"**The one we've all been waiting for," said George.**

The Twins grinned as Charlie laughed. "I don't know why Captains insist on doing the same speech. It gets boring"

"I don't know why you're saying that" Bill rolled his eyes "A little bird told me you used to do the same thing"

"Oh, well"

"**We know Oliver's speech by heart," Fred told Harry, "we were on the team last year."**

"**Shut up, you two," said Wood. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it."**

**He glared at them all as if to say, "Or else."**

Tonks chuckled "The 'or else' thing is so old"

"**Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you."**

**Harry followed Fred and George out of the locker room and, hoping his knees weren't going to give way, walked onto the field to loud cheers.**

**Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.**

"**Now, I want a nice fair game, all of you," she said, once they were all gathered around her. **

"Gryffindor and Slytherin, fair" James snorted "Yeah, right"

**Harry noticed that she seemed to be speaking particularly to the Slytherin Captain, Marcus Flint, a sixth year. Harry thought Flint looked as if he had some troll blood in him. **

"He gets it from his father" Frank said "Was an year above me. Hate that man"

**Out ****of the corner of his eye he saw the fluttering banner high above, flashing Potter for President over the crowd. His heart skipped. He felt braver.**

Harry smiled, it would indeed help him.

"**Mount your brooms, please."**

**Harry clambered onto his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.**

**Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off.**

"**And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor — what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too —"**

Some people chuckled

"That's our mate. Lee" George said

"He seems funny" Sirius said

"Of course, he is. If he wasn't he'd not hang out with us" Fred said

"**JORDAN!"**

"**Sorry, Professor."**

"Aww, Minnie, don't be such a spoil sport" Sirius said

"You don't know it's me" Minerva rolled her eyes.

"Who else could it be?"

**The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.**

"See" Sirius smiled smugly.

"**And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve — back to Johnson and — no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes — Flint flying like an eagle up there — he's going to sc— no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle — that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and — OUCH — that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger — Quaffle taken by the Slytherins — that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger — sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which — nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes — she's really flying — dodges a speeding Bludger — the goal posts are ahead — come on, now, Angelina — Keeper Bletchley dives — misses — GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"**

"YEAH" The Gryffindors in the room cheered. Even the newest ones, Neville, Ron, Harry and to her parents amusement Hermione, though she didn't look as enthusiastic as the others.

**Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.**

"**Budge up there, move along."**

"**Hagrid!"**

**Ron and Hermione squeezed together to give Hagrid enough space to join them.**

"**Bin watchin' from me hut," said Hagrid, patting a large pair of binoculars around his neck, "But it isn't the same as bein' in the crowd. No sign of the Snitch yet, eh?"**

"**Nope," said Ron. "Harry hasn't had much to do yet."**

"Weird, that's not from my point of view" Harry commented. Not that he minded much, he had a bad feeling that everyone hearing his thoughts is bound to get him in trouble.

"**Kept outta trouble, though, that's somethin'," said Hagrid, raising his binoculars and peering skyward at the speck that was Harry.**

**Way up above them, Harry was gliding over the game, squinting about for some sign of the Snitch. This was part of his and Wood's game plan.**

"**Keep out of the way until you catch sight of the Snitch," Wood had said. "We don't want you attacked before you have to be."**

"That's a good plan" Lily said

"Yes" James agreed "Especially since he's younger and if he gets hurt…" He started to blab but Lily gave him a look that said 'Don't-talk-about-him-getting-hurt-so-calmly-as-if-it's-nothing' so he stopped talking. Better not get into Lily's wrong side.

**When Angelina had scored, Harry had done a couple of loop-the-loops to let off his feelings. Now he was back to staring around for the Snitch. Once he caught sight of a flash of gold, but it was just a reflection from one of the Weasleys' wristwatches, **

"Maybe we should stop wearing them at the matches" George mused.

"Though, it can also confound the other team" Fred said.

**and once a Bludger decided to come pelting his way, more like a cannonball than anything, but Harry dodged it and Fred Weasley came chasing after it.**

"**All right there, Harry?" he had time to yell, as he beat the Bludger furiously toward Marcus Flint.**

"**Slytherin in possession," Lee Jordan was saying, "Chaser Pucey ducks two Bludgers, two Weasleys, and Chaser Bell, and speeds toward the — wait a moment — was that the Snitch?"**

**A murmur ran through the crowd as Adrian Pucey dropped the Quaffle, too busy looking over his shoulder at the flash of gold that had passed his left ear.**

**Harry saw it. In a great rush of excitement he dived downward after the streak of gold. **

"Yes, Go Harry" Sirius cheered.

**Slytherin Seeker Terence Higgs had seen it, too. Neck and neck they hurtled toward the Snitch — all the Chasers seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they hung in midair to watch.**

**Harry was faster than Higgs — he could see the little round ball, wings fluttering, darting up ahead — he put on an extra spurt of speed —**

**WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Gryffindors below — Marcus Flint had blocked Harry on purpose, and Harry's broom spun off course, Harry holding on for dear life.**

"That's horrible" Jane exclaimed "They're in mid-air, he could've died"

"**Foul!" screamed the Gryffindors.**

**Madam Hooch spoke angrily to Flint and then ordered a free shot at the goal posts for Gryffindor. But in all the confusion, of course, the Golden Snitch had disappeared from sight again.**

"He should have been given a red card" David exclaimed

"A what?!" Bill asked confused

"It's used in another muggle game, football. When a player do something that is against the rules he receives a red card and is excluded from the game." David explained

"Fascinating" Arthur exclaimed

"If we used that on Quidditch professional games, in the end there'd be just a couple of players" James said

"Yeah, but maybe that'd make them follow the rules" Tonks said

"Perhaps"

**Down in the stands, Dean Thomas was yelling, "Send him off, ref! Red card!"**

Some people chuckled, as David looked surprised.

"**What are you talking about, Dean?" said Ron.**

"**Red card!" said Dean furiously. "In football you get shown the red card and you're out of the game!"**

"**But this isn't football, Dean," Ron reminded him.**

"Still, it would be better" David tried not to glare at the boy.

**Hagrid, however, was on Dean's side.**

"**They oughta change the rules. Flint coulda knocked Harry outta the air."**

"Yes" David nodded.

**Lee Jordan was finding it difficult not to take sides.**

"**So — after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating —"**

"I like that guy" James said

"Yeah, almost as good as Moony" Sirius agreed, as Tonks looked at Remus surprised

"You used to narrate the game?" Remus chuckled

"Never been that much of a player but I liked to watch so on my fourth year when our previous narrator graduated I applied for the job" He explained

"He was hilarious" Sirius said "Some people started going to the game just to hear what he'd say"

"I was one of them" Lily smiled "It was really funny"

"**Jordan!" growled Professor McGonagall.**

"**I mean, after that open and revolting foul…"**

"**Jordan, I'm warning you—"**

People laughed

"He sure I brave" Remus laughed

"**All right, all right. Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinner, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."**

**It was as Harry dodged another Bludger, which went spinning dangerously past his head, that it happened. His broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. **

"Oh great! What else?" Lily exclaimed

"A bunch of Dementors will invade the field and make Harry fall off his broom" Ron joked, but Lily's eyes widen. Molly exclaimed

"Ronald"

"What? I was just kidding!" Ron protested

"You don't kid with something like that" Molly huffed as she turned to Lily "Relax my dear, that won't happen"

**For a split second, he thought he was going to fall. He gripped the broom tightly with both his hands and knees. He'd never felt anything like that.**

**It happened again. It was as though the broom was trying to buck him off. **

"His broom is being cursed" Moody declared

"Why would someone want to curse a eleven-years-old broom?" Tonks asked

"You can never trust people" Moody said

**But Nimbus Two Thousands did not suddenly decide to buck their riders off. Harry tried to turn back toward the Gryffindor goal-posts — he had half a mind to ask Wood to call time-out — and then he realized that his broom was completely out of his control. He couldn't turn it. He couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated him.**

**Lee was still commentating.**

"**Slytherin in possession — Flint with the Quaffle — passes Spinnet — passes Bell — hit hard in the face by a Bludger, hope it broke his nose — only joking, Professor — Slytherins score — A no…"**

**The Slytherins were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed that Harry's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying him slowly higher, away from the game, jerking and twitching as it went.**

Harry frowned at that, was his broom really cursed or was him just being stupid?

"**Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled. He stared through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom… but he can't have…"**

**Suddenly, people were pointing up at Harry all over the stands. His broom had started to roll over and over, with him only just managing to hold on. Then the whole crowd gasped. Harry's broom had given a wild jerk and Harry swung off it. **

**He was now dangling from it, holding on with only one hand.**

"**Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.**

"Impossible, the broom is for professionals" Ron said "It can handle a lot more than that"

"**Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic — no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."**

**At these words, Hermione seized Hagrid's binoculars, but instead of looking up at Harry, she started looking frantically at the crowd.**

"**What are you doing?" moaned Ron, gray-faced.**

"**I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape — look."**

The room turned to glare at Severus who exclaimed

"I'M NOT TRYING TO KILL THE KID OR GET THE STUPID STONE"

**Ron grabbed the binoculars. Snape was in the middle of the stands opposite them. He had his eyes fixed on Harry and was muttering nonstop under his breath.**

"What do you have to say about that?" Sirius asked

"I can be trying to protect the broom from someone who's actually trying to jinx it" Severus argued.

"**He's doing something — jinxing the broom," said Hermione.**

"**What should we do?"**

"**Leave it to me."**

"Oh, dear god. What are you going to do?" Jane asked. She knew every well that Hermione doesn't like to break the rules but if it's to save someone she cares about, then she'll do the impossible.

**Before Ron could say another word, Hermione had disappeared. Ron turned the binoculars back on Harry. His broom was vibrating so hard, it was almost impossible for him to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as the Weasleys flew up to try and pull Harry safely onto one of their brooms, but it was no good – every time they got near him, the broom would jump higher still. They dropped lower and circled beneath him, obviously hoping to catch him if he fell. **

**Marcus Flint seized the Quaffle and scored five times without anyone noticing.**

"Stupid git" Hagrid protested " 'arry's going to die and he's 'orried about thy 'ame"

"**Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered desperately.**

**Hermione had fought her way across to the stand where Snape stood, and was now racing along the row behind him; she didn't even stop to say sorry as she knocked Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. **

Remus raised an eyebrow, why would Quirrell be mentioned in a time like that? Something must be going on… Little did he know that the same thoughts were crossing Moody's, Albus's, Frank's, Minerva's and David's mind.

**Reaching Snape, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few, well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.**

**It took perhaps thirty seconds for Snape to realize that he was on fire.**

"YOU PUT MY ROBES ON FIRE?!" Severus yelled

"I'm…" Hermione was about to say she was sorry, but then it crossed her mind that he was trying to kill Harry so she closed her mouth and tried to look as if she didn't care.

"Don't you dare yell at my daughter" David growled. Severus sighed, why were everybody blaming him, he hates the boy, yes. He hates his father, godfather and the werewolf that he was sure that soon would be known as 'Uncle Moony' he tried to hide his gag. But still, he wouldn't try to kill him, he was still Lily's son.

**A sudden yelp told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a little jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row — Snape would never know what had happened.**

"Think again" Severus said.

**It was enough. Up in the air, Harry was suddenly able to clamber back on to his broom.**

"**Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been sobbing into Hagrid's jacket for the last five minutes.**

Augusta made a face, how could he be so weak? Meanwhile, Alice hugged her son, he was so sweet.

**Harry was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick — he hit the field on all fours — coughed — and something gold fell into his hand.**

"You almost swallowed the Snitch" James said incredulous.

"**I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.**

"**He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference — Harry hadn't broken any rules and Lee Jordan was still happily shouting the results — Gryffindor had won by one hundred and seventy points to sixty. Harry heard none of this, though. **

"What? Why?" James protested "It's your first Quidditch victory, you should celebrate"

"He was almost killed" Lily glared at him

"Oh, right"

**He was being made a cup of strong tea back in Hagrid's hut, with Ron and Hermione.**

"**It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."**

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid, who hadn't heard a word of what had gone on next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"**

"Thank you" Severus muttered

**Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, wondering what to tell him. ****Harry decided on the truth.**

"**I found out something about him," he told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."**

**Hagrid dropped the teapot.**

"**How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.**

Remus chuckled "Should've known it was yours"

"**Fluffy?"**

"**Yeah — he's mine — bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year — I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the —"**

"**Yes?" said Harry eagerly.**

Minerva shook her head, Hagrid always talked too much.

"**Now, don't ask me anymore," said Hagrid gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."**

"That's just going to make them try to discover what it is" Lily said

"**But Snape's trying to steal it."**

"**Rubbish," said Hagrid again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."**

"**So why did he just try and kill Harry?" cried Hermione.**

**The afternoon's events certainly seemed to have changed her mind about Snape.**

"**I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid, I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"**

"That's also what you do when you're trying to fight the jinx, you foolish child" Severus exclaimed unhappily, the room glared at him. Most people liked Hermione a lot better than him and did not like to see him treating her like that.

"**I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh — yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel —"**

"Oh, Hagrid." Minerva sighed. Hagrid blushed, damn him and his bog mouth

"**Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"**

**Hagrid looked furious with himself.**

"It's finished" Jane said

"Well, we should eat now" Sirius said "Since I suppose you won't explain what's the stone doing at Hogwarts, right?" He glanced at Hogwarts staff who shook their heads.

"Well, then Let's eat"


	13. The Mirror of Erised

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

**Hey guys, Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying. As for the challenge people asked me if you can participate more than once in different reviews. The answer is no. It's one change per account, if you have more than one, then it's ok, you can give me two answers, if you give me two pr account I'll see only the first. ****I'm glad you're all participating! Thanks for all the support, Enjoy this chapter. **

**P.S.: If you pay close attention you'll notice that there's an hint about who'll discover in this chapter. **

Chapter 13:

The Mirror of Erised

They ate a lunch prepared by Molly and Jane who enjoyed talking about their children, just as Arthur and David enjoyed discussing the difference in the muggle and the wizardry world. Meanwhile, Harry was trying to find out everything he could about his parents, as was Neville. Tonks was talking with Moody about Auror training and occasionally cries of 'Constant Vigilant' could be heard. Bill and Charlie were telling Hermione about Hogwarts and they found they quite liked the girl. Percy was talking to Xenophilius Lovegood who was telling him about the strange creatures he never heard of. Luna was doing the same thing to Ginny, who was not believing a word of it but seemed to find Luna funny. Ron and the twins were chatting with Remus and Sirius who were bragging about their pranks. The professors and Hagrid sat at an excluded corner at the table and were quietly discussing what to do about the stone, they hoped the kids would not find out about this.

As dinner ended, Minerva picked up the book and said "Can I read now?" As a chorus of 'yeah' and 'yes' reached her, she started reading

**"The Mirror of Erised,"**

"What's that?" Hermione asked

"I've read about it, it's a mirror that shows what you wish the most" Remus said.

**Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. **

The twins high-fived. Molly shook her head

"Why must you do that?"

"It's fun" They grinned at her.

**The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid before they could fly off again. No one could wait for the holidays to start. **

**While the Gryffindor common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the windows in the classrooms. Worst of all were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons.**

"**I do feel so sorry," said Draco Malfoy, one Potions class, "for all those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they're not wanted at home."**

"Actually, Christmas at Hogwarts is awesome" Sirius said "Much better than at my house"

**He was looking over at Harry as he spoke. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled. Harry, who was measuring out powdered spine of lionfish, ignored them. Malfoy had been even more unpleasant than usual since the Quidditch match. Disgusted that the Slytherins had lost, he had tried to get everyone laughing at how a wide-mouthed tree frog would be replacing Harry as Seeker next. **

"Idiot" Hagrid grunted

**Then he'd realized that nobody found this funny, because they were all so impressed at the way Harry had managed to stay on his bucking broomstick. So Malfoy, jealous and angry, had gone back to taunting Harry about having no proper family.**

"I hate him" James declared

**It was true that Harry wasn't going back to Privet Drive for Christmas. Professor McGonagall had come around the week before, making a list of students who would be staying for the holidays, and Harry had signed up at once. He didn't feel sorry for himself at all; this would probably be the best Christmas he'd ever had. Ron and his brothers were staying, too, because Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were going to Romania to visit Charlie.**

"Cool, I can show you the dragons" Charlie said happily, Molly paled.

**When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking the corridor ahead. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.**

"**Hi, Hagrid, want any help?" Ron asked, sticking his head through the branches.**

Molly beamed, he was being polite;

"**Nah, I'm all right, thanks, Ron."**

"**Would you mind moving out of the way?" came Malfoy's cold drawl from behind them. "Are you trying to earn some extra money, Weasley? Hoping to be gamekeeper yourself when you leave Hogwarts, I suppose — that hut of Hagrid's must seem like a palace compared to what your family's used to."**

The Weasleys looked angry at that, as did most in the room.

**Ron dived at Malfoy just as Snape came up the stairs.**

"**WEASLEY!" **

**Ron let go of the front of Malfoy's robes.**

"Great, you'll side with the ferret" Sirius groaned.

"**He was provoked, Professor Snape," said Hagrid, sticking his huge hairy face out from behind the tree. "Malfoy was insultin' his family."**

"Yeah! You tell him, Hagrid" The twins cheered.

"**Be that as it may, fighting is against Hogwarts rules, Hagrid," said Snape silkily. "Five points from Gryffindor, Weasley, and be grateful it isn't more. Move along, all of you."**

"Malfoy was in the fight too, why don't you take points off Slytherin?" Jane said, Severus ignored her.

"Because, he's unfair" Bill glared at his ex-professor.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pushed roughly past the tree, scattering needles everywhere and smirking.**

"**I'll get him," said Ron, grinding his teeth at Malfoy's back, "one of these days, I'll get him —"**

"Go Ron!" Fred cheered.

"I can't believe you're encouraging your brother to get into fights" Molly glared at Fred;

"He's talking dirt about our family, he deserves a punch in his ferret face" Fred protested, Molly gave him a look. Minerva decided that it would be better to start reading.

"**I hate them both," said Harry, "Malfoy and Snape."**

"Hear, Hear" The twins cheered.

"**Come on, cheer up, it's nearly Christmas," said Hagrid. "Tell yeh what, come with me an' see the Great Hall, looks a treat."**

"Hogwarts at Christmas is one of the most beautiful sighs!" Alice sighed, most ex-students nodded.

**So the three of them followed Hagrid and his tree off to the Great Hall, where Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick were busy with the Christmas decorations.**

"**Ah, Hagrid, the last tree — put it in the far corner, would you?"**

**The hall looked spectacular. Festoons of holly and mistletoe hung all around the walls, and no less than twelve towering Christmas trees stood around the room, some sparkling with tiny icicles, some glittering with hundreds of candles.**

"It really sounds beautiful" Jane sighed.

"**How many days you got left until yer holidays?" Hagrid asked.**

"**Just one," said Hermione. **

Jane beamed "You're coming home for Christmas"

"**And that reminds me — Harry, Ron, we've got half an hour before lunch, we should be in the library."**

"Huh? Library?" Most people looked confused

"**Oh yeah, you're right," said Ron, tearing his eyes away from Professor Flitwick, who had golden bubbles blossoming out of his wand and was trailing them over the branches of the new tree.**

"Wow, you'll get Harry and Ron to go to the library, you're amazing" Charlie exclaimed. Hermione blushed, as did Ron and Harry for some reason.

"**The library?" said Hagrid, following them out of the hall. "Just before the holidays? Bit keen, aren't yeh?"**

"**Oh, we're not working," Harry told him brightly. "Ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel we've been trying to find out who he is."**

James chuckled "I bet Hagrid won't like hearing that" He glanced at Hagrid's shocked face. Yup, won't like it one bit.

"**You what?" Hagrid looked shocked. "Listen here — I've told yeh — drop it. It's nothin' to you what that dog's guardin'."**

"Why do you have to be so curious?" Lily sighed

"I agree it would be much better if they just let it go" Jane nodded

"Yeah, right" Bill chuckled "Look, I don't know much about Harry and Hermione but from the little I've seen about them and from what I know about Ron, I'm sure they won't stop until they discover about this great 'secret' and everyone telling them it's something they shouldn't know, it will just make them more curious"

"You're right" Sirius chuckled, that's what the Marauders would do as well.

"**We just want to know who Nicolas Flamel is, that's all," said Hermione.**

"**Unless you'd like to tell us and save us the trouble?" Harry added. "We must've been through hundreds of books already and we can't find him anywhere — just give us a hint — I know I've read his name somewhere."**

"It's not that hard to find it, you just have to look at the right places" Remus said

"I don't get it" David admitted, Arthur had explained what the stone was to him during lunch but still "If this Nicholas has such thing, how come it's not with him…"

"That's what we're all dying to know." Frank said "I can't see why the stone would be at Hogwarts.. unless…"

"What?" Sirius asked

"Someone was trying to steal it and it needed to be protected" Frank suggested

"That's possible" Arthur said. Minerva sighed quietly, the secret was not going to be a secret for too long.

"**I'm sayin' nothin', said Hagrid flatly.**

"**Just have to find out for ourselves, then," said Ron, and they left Hagrid looking disgruntled and hurried off to the library.**

Hagrid sighed.

**They had indeed been searching books for Flamel's name ever since Hagrid had let it slip, because how else were they going to find out what Snape was trying to steal? The trouble was, it was very hard to know where to begin, not knowing what Flamel might have done to get himself into a book. **

**He wasn't in Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century, or Notable Magical Names of Our Time; he was missing, too, from Important Modern Magical Discoveries, and A Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry. **

**And then, of course, there was the sheer size of the library; tens of thousands of books; thousands of shelves; hundreds of narrow rows.**

"Wow, you counted?" Percy exclaimed

"No, it's in Hogwarts, a History" Hermione explained

"You read that?" Ron stared at her

"Yes" Hermione said

"You're nuts, the book has thousands pages" Ron shook his head, he'd never understand her.

"It's interesting"

**Hermione took out a list of subjects and titles she had decided to search while Ron strode off down a row of books and started pulling them off the shelves at random. **

Some people chuckled.

**Harry wandered over to the Restricted Section. He had been wondering for a while if Flamel wasn't somewhere in there. Unfortunately, you needed a specially signed note from one of the teachers to look in any of the restricted books, and he knew he'd never get one. These were the books containing powerful Dark Magic never taught at Hogwarts, and only read by older students studying advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts.**

"**What are you looking for, boy?"**

"**Nothing," said Harry.**

**Madam Pince the librarian brandished a feather duster at him.**

"**You'd better get out, then. Go on — out!"**

"What's on that section that the students can't even look at?" David asked curiously

"Books can be dangerous too" Arthur said "Some books have spells on them and can cause you some damage"

"Really…" David started at him, he could not imagine a book doing people harm , but he couldn't imagine his daughter being a witch too, so…

**Wishing he'd been a bit quicker at thinking up some story, Harry left the library. He, Ron, and Hermione had already agreed they'd better not ask Madam Pince where they could find Flamel. They were sure she'd be able to tell them, but they couldn't risk Snape hearing what they were up to.**

Severus grunted

"I don't want the stupid stone"

**Harry waited outside in the corridor to see if the other two had found anything, but he wasn't very hopeful. They had been looking for two weeks, after all, but as they only had odd moments between lessons it wasn't surprising they'd found nothing. What they really needed was a nice long search without Madam Pince breathing down their necks.**

"Good luck with that" Remus snorted "Every time I look for something there, she keeps looking at what I'm looking"

"Humm… Remus hate to break it up to you but she doesn't do that to everyone, she does that to you because you hang out with those two gits" Lily pointed at James and Sirius

"That'd explain a lot" Remus said thoughtful

"But that doesn't explain why she doesn't trust me" Harry said

"You're the son of said git" Lily explained

**Five minutes later, Ron and Hermione joined him, shaking their heads. They went off to lunch.**

"**You will keep looking while I'm away, won't you?" said Hermione. "And send me an owl if you find anything."**

"Don't count on that sweetie, they're boys" Alice stated "They'll probably forget about it"

"**And you could ask your parents if they know who Flamel is," said Ron. "It'd be safe to ask them."**

"I'm afraid we won't be able to help" Jane said

"**Very safe, as they're both dentists," said Hermione.**

**Once the holidays had started, Ron and Harry were having too good a time to think much about Flamel. **

People chuckled. Hermione shot them a disappointed look, the guys looked sheepishly

**They had the dormitory to themselves and the common room was far emptier than usual, so they were able to get the good armchairs by the fire. They sat by the hour eating anything they could spear on a toasting fork — bread, English muffins, marshmallows — and plotting ways of getting Malfoy expelled, which were fun to talk about even if they wouldn't work.**

"Sounds like a good way to spend the day" Sirius grinned

**Ron also started teaching Harry wizard chess. This was exactly like Muggle chess except that the figures were alive, which made it a lot like directing troops in battle. Ron's set was very old and battered. Like everything else he owned, it had once belonged to someone else in his family — in this case, his grandfather. However, old chessmen weren't a drawback at all. Ron knew them so well he never had trouble getting them to do what he wanted.**

"That's the good part of it" Ron grinned

"You like chess?" David raised an eyebrow

"Yup" Ron said happily, forgetting that the man he was talking to was out to get his head. "I love it"

"And Ron is really good too" Molly smiled

"I should know" Charlie said "It's rather humiliating losing to a five-years-old boy"

"Maybe we should play some time" David gave Ron a look, that almost made him want to stop playing chess so he could get out of that, but instead of doing that he simply said

"Humm… er.. o-ok"

**Harry played with chessmen Seamus Finnigan had lent him, and they didn't trust him at all. He wasn't a very good player yet and they kept shouting different bits of advice at him, which was confusing. "Don't send me there, can't you see his knight? Send him, we can afford to lose him."**

"They talk… that could be useful" David said

**On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting any presents at all. **

**When he woke early in the morning, however, the first thing he saw was a small pile of packages at the foot of his bed.**

"I'll get a present?" Harry muttered, he never got presents, not even on Christmas.

"**Happy Christmas," said Ron sleepily as Harry scrambled out of bed and pulled on his bathrobe.**

"**You, too," said Harry. "Will you look at this? I've got some presents!"**

Lily looked sad, he didn't get present on Christmas, while that ppig Dudley probably got thousand of presents.

"**What did you expect, turnips?" said Ron, turning to his own pile, which was a lot bigger than Harry's.**

**Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in thick brown paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Hagrid. Inside was a roughly cut wooden flute. Hagrid had obviously whittled it himself. Harry blew it — it sounded a bit like an owl.**

"Thanks, Hagrid" Harry said to the giant who grinned at him "Yer welcome"

**A second, very small parcel contained a note.**

**We received your message and enclose your Christmas present. From Uncle Vernon and Aunt**

**Petunia. Taped to the note was a fifty-pence piece.**

"At least they gave me something" Harry said, as people gave the book an angry look.

"**That's friendly," said Harry.**

**Ron was fascinated by the fifty pence.**

"**Weird!" he said, 'What a shape! This is money?"**

With that, Molly groaned 'not another one' and people laughed as both Arthur and Ron blushed

"See dad, you've been influencing people" Bill chuckled

"**You can keep it," said Harry, laughing at how pleased Ron was. "Hagrid and my aunt and uncle — so who sent these?"**

"**I think I know who that one's from," said Ron, turning a bit pink and pointing to a very lumpy parcel. "My mom. I told her you didn't expect any presents and — oh, no," he groaned, "she's made you a Weasley sweater."**

"What's a Weasley sweater?" Tonks asked

"Every year I sew a sweater for each of my children" Molly explained, realizing that it meant that her book-self probably 'adopted' Harry, and she was glad, it was what she expected.

**Harry had torn open the parcel to find a thick, hand-knitted sweater in emerald green and a large box of homemade fudge.**

"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley" Harry said

"It's no problem, my dear"

"**Every year she makes us a sweater," said Ron, unwrapping his own, "and mine's always maroon."**

"Don't you like maroon?" Molly narrowed her eye-brows

"Humm… no, not really" Ron avoided to look in her eyes

"But I thought it was your favorite color" Molly said

"No, that's my favorite color" Charlie said

"Oh… I'm sorry, Ron" Molly sighed, no wonder he has an inferiority complex.

"It's ok" Ron mumbled

"**That's really nice of her," said Harry, trying the fudge, which was very tasty.**

**His next present also contained candy — a large box of Chocolate Frogs from Hermione.**

"Thanks, Hermione" Harry said

"You're welcome"

**This only left one parcel. Harry picked it up and felt it. It was very light. He unwrapped it.**

**Something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor where it lay in gleaming folds. **

The Marauders all jumped at this, getting everyone's attention

"You don't think it is what I'm thinking, do you?" Remus said

"Maybe" Sirius said

"It could be quite useful" James said

**Ron gasped.**

"**I've heard of those," he said in a hushed voice, dropping the box of Every Flavor Beans he'd gotten from Hermione. **

"**If that's what I think it is — they're really rare, and really valuable."**

"Yes!" Sirius and James cheered

"What is it?" Tonks asked and was ignored

"**What is it?"**

**Harry picked the shining, silvery cloth off the floor. It was strange to the touch, like water woven into material.**

"You got my cloak" James grinned

"**It's an invisibility cloak," said Ron, a look of awe on his face. "I'm sure it is — try it on."**

"You have an invisibility cloak?" Frank exclaimed "That's why you got away with everything"

"Correction, they'd have gotten away with everything if they weren't stupid enough to sign the work" Lily said

"Don't you get it, Lils, we wanted to get caught, so everyone would know we did it" Sirius grinned.

"Idiots"

**Harry threw the cloak around his shoulders and Ron gave a yell.**

"**It is! Look down!"**

**Harry looked down at his feet, but they were gone. He dashed to the mirror. Sure enough, his reflection looked back at him, just his head suspended in midair, his body completely invisible.**

"Awesome" The twins, Ron and Harry exclaimed

"Thanks, dad" Harry grinned, this was the best present ever, imagine what he could so at the Dursleys.

"No problem, kiddo" James grinned "Use it wisely"

"Translation: Get in trouble" Bill laughed.

**He pulled the cloak over his head and his reflection vanished completely.**

"**There's a note!" said Ron suddenly. "A note fell out of it!"**

"So, we'll see how it reached Harry" Frank commented

**Harry pulled off the cloak and seized the letter. Written in narrow, loopy writing he had never seen before were the following words:**

**Your father left this in my possession before he died.**

**It is time it was returned to you.**

**Use it well.**

**A Very Happy Christmas to you.**

**There was no signature. **

"Weird, who could it be? I don't trust my cloak with a lot of people" James narrowed his eyes

"Maybe it was with Moony and heard that Harry was at Hogwarts so he decided to send it to him" Sirius said, knowing that it couldn't be him the one sending it.

"I don't know, what would I be doing with the cloak?" Remus pondered "I mean, I only use it when we… er… do something"

"Prank people, you mean" Charlie grinned

"Well, yes" Remus went slightly pink. Meanwhile, Albus was trying to mask his emotions as he knew he was doing the right thing, he couldn't get blind because of the power. Harry deserved the cloak and Albus was sure he'd need it more than him.

"Why don't you read, my dear professor?" He whispered to Minerva who had a frustrated expression.

"Alright"

**Harry stared at the note. Ron was admiring the cloak.**

"**I'd give anything for one of these," he said. "Anything. What's the matter?"**

"**Nothing," said Harry. He felt very strange. Who had sent the cloak? Had it really once belonged to his father?**

"Yup, it has been in our families for generations"

**Before he could say or think anything else, the dormitory door was flung open and Fred and George Weasley bounded in. Harry stuffed the cloak quickly out of sight. He didn't feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.**

The twins wanted to whine playfully and say something like 'no fair, Harry' but they didn't because they knew _why___he didn't want to share.

"**Happy Christmas!"**

"**Hey, look — Harry's got a Weasley sweater, too!"**

**Fred and George were wearing blue sweaters, one with a large yellow F on it, the other a G. **

"You're probably wearing it wrong, right?" Frank asked chuckling

"Yup"

"**Harry's is better than ours, though," said Fred, holding up Harry's sweater. "She obviously makes more of an effort if you're not family."**

"That's not true" Molly glared at them

"We're joking, mom"

"**Why aren't you wearing yours, Ron?" George demanded. "Come on, get it on, they're lovely and warm."**

"**I hate maroon," Ron moaned halfheartedly as he pulled it over his head.**

Molly shifted uncomfortably. Ron looked at the floor

"**You haven't got a letter on yours," George observed. "I suppose she thinks you don't forget your name. But we're not stupid — we know we're called Gred and Forge."**

Everyone laughed, except for Moody, Molly, Arthur (who was afraid of what his wife would do to him if he did so), Minerva and Severus

"**What's all this noise?"**

**Percy Weasley stuck his head through the door, looking disapproving. He had clearly gotten halfway through unwrapping his presents as he, too, carried a lumpy sweater over his arm, which Fred seized.**

"**P for prefect! Get it on, Percy, come on, we're all wearing ours, even Harry got one."**

"**I — don't — want —" said Percy thickly, as the twins forced the sweater over his head, knocking his glasses askew.**

"Why don't you want to wear it?" Tonks asked

"Because I probably know they'll tease me because of the P" Percy said, the twins grinned. Molly glared

"**And you're not sitting with the prefects today, either," said George. "Christmas is a time for family."**

**They frog-marched Percy from the room, his arms pinned to his side by his sweater.**

**Harry had never in all his life had such a Christmas dinner. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce – and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. **

"I think I'll get used to it" Harry grinned

**These fantastic party favors were nothing like the feeble Muggle ones the Dursleys usually bought, with their little plastic toys and their flimsy paper hats inside. Harry pulled a wizard cracker with Fred and it didn't just bang, it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a rear admiral's hat and several live, white mice. Up at the High Table, Dumbledore had swapped his pointed wizard's hat for a flowered bonnet, and was chuckling merrily at a joke Professor Flitwick had just read him.**

**Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Percy nearly broke his teeth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Harry watched Hagrid getting redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who, to Harry's amazement, giggled and blushed, her top hat lopsided.**

People laughed, Minerva and Hagrid blushed hard.

"It must be a fun sight to see Minnie drunk" James said

**When Harry finally left the table, he was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including a pack of nonexplodable, luminous balloons, a Grow-Your-Own-Warts kit, and his own new wizard chess set. The white mice had disappeared and Harry had a nasty feeling they were going to end up as Mrs. Norris's Christmas dinner.**

**Harry and the Weasleys spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds. **

"I love snowball fights" Tonks said happily

"Us too" James and Sirius laughed

"Though Remus' the master" Sirius grinned

"I'm not" Remus blushed

"Yes, you are" The Marauders, Lily, Frank and Alice chorused

"Why you're the master?" Tonks raised an eyebrow

"Nobody beats him, he's a surprisingly fast walker in the snow" Sirius grinned.

"I'd like to see that" Tonks said

"Maybe I'll show you" Remus smiled

"Uhhh. Moony and Dora sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. First—"

"Shut up, Sirius!" Remus and Tonks hit him the head

"Ow"

**Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Gryffindor common room, where Harry broke in his new chess set by losing spectacularly to Ron. **

Ron grinned, Harry pouted playfully,

**He suspected he wouldn't have lost so badly if Percy hadn't tried to help him so much.**

"Thanks, Harry"

"Sorry, Percy"

**After a meal of turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bed except sit and watch Percy chase Fred and George all over Gryffindor tower because they'd stolen his prefect badge.**

Some people laughed at that.

**It had been Harry's best Christmas day ever. Yet something had been nagging at the back of his mind all day. Not until he climbed into bed was he free to think about it: the invisibility cloak and whoever had sent it.**

**Ron, full of turkey and cake and with nothing mysterious to bother him, fell asleep almost as soon as he'd drawn the curtains of his four-poster. Harry leaned over the side of his own bed and pulled the cloak out from under it.**

**His father's… this had been his father's. He let the material flow over his hands, smoother than silk, light as air. Use it well, the note had said.**

James put his hand on Harry's shoulder in a way to support him.

**He had to try it, now. He slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around himself. Looking down at his legs, he saw only moonlight and shadows. It was a very funny feeling.**

_**Use it well.**_

**Suddenly, Harry felt wide-awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to him in this cloak. Excitement flooded through him as he stood there in the dark and silence. He could go anywhere in this, anywhere, and Filch would never know.**

Some people laughed, The Marauders smiled proudly, Lily and Minerva groaned. Harry blushed, but smiled excited.

**Ron grunted in his sleep. Should Harry wake him? Something held him back — his father's cloak — he felt that this time — the first time — he wanted to use it alone.**

"It's ok, mate, I understand" Ron said as Harry gave him a guilty look.

**He crept out of the dormitory, down the stairs, across the common room, and climbed through the portrait hole.**

"**Who's there?" squawked the Fat Lady. Harry said nothing. He walked quickly down the corridor.**

"Nobody ever says anything" Alice said

**Where should he go? He stopped, his heart racing, and thought. And then it came to him. The Restricted Section in the library.**

"What?!" Fred and George stared at him

"You can go anywhere in the castle but you chose the library?!"

"Humm… I want to know who Flamel is" Harry gave them a sheepishly look

**He'd be able to read as long as he liked, as long as it took to find out who Flamel was. **

**He set off, drawing the invisibility cloak tight around him as he walked.**

**The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Harry lit a lamp to see his way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as if it was floating along in midair, and even though Harry could feel his arm supporting it, the sight gave him the creeps.**

"At first it really does" Sirius said

**The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, he held up his lamp to read the titles.**

**They didn't tell him much. Their peeling faded gold letters spelled words in languages Harry couldn't understand. Some had no title at all. One book had a dark stain on it that looked horribly like blood. **

"It probably is" Severus muttered

**The hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickled. Maybe he was imagining it, maybe not, but he thought a faint whispering was coming from the books, as though they knew someone was there who shouldn't be.**

"I don't doubt it, as I said books can be dangerous too" Arthur said

**He had to start somewhere. Setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, he looked along the bottom shelf for an interesting looking book. A large black and silver volume caught his eye. He pulled it out with difficulty, because it was very heavy, and, balancing it on his knee, let it fall open.**

**A piercing, bloodcurdling shriek split the silence — the book was screaming! Harry snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, one high, unbroken, earsplitting note. **

People shuddered

"And that's why students don't have permission to go to the restricted session" Minerva stated

**He stumbled backward and knocked over his lamp, which went out at once. Panicking, he heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside — stuffing the shrieking book back on the shelf, he ran for it. He passed Filch in the doorway; Filch's pale, wild eyes looked straight through him, and Harry slipped under Filch's outstretched arm and streaked off up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in his ears.**

**He came to a sudden halt in front of a tall suit of armor. He had been so busy getting away from the library, he hadn't paid attention to where he was going. Perhaps because it was dark, he didn't recognize where he was at all. There was a suit of armor near the kitchens, he knew, but he must be five floors above there.**

"It's not good to get lost in the castle at night" James said

"Good thing we had the map"

"**You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library Restricted Section."**

**Harry felt the blood drain out of his face. Wherever he was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting nearer, and to his horror, it was Snape who replied, **"**The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be far, we'll catch them."**

"Why are you so obsessed?" Sirius snapped. But Minerva didn't give him a chance to continue as she kept reading.

**Harry stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Snape came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see him, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much nearer they'd knock right into him — the cloak didn't stop him from being solid.**

"Or make noise" Remus added

**He backed away as quietly as he could. A door stood ajar to his left. It was his only hope. He squeezed through it, holding his breath, trying not to move it, and to his relief he managed to get inside the room without their noticing anything. They walked straight past, and Harry leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps dying away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before he noticed anything about the room he had hidden in.**

**It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastepaper basket – but propped against the wall facing him was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had just put it there to keep it out of the way.**

"Oh" Albus let out "I don't think it'd be wise to stay there, Mr. Potter"

This comment made everyone uneasy as it came from the Headmaster.

**It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. **

"What's so bad about a mirror?" David asked

"It's the Mirror of Erised" Albus said "And it can be very tricky"

**His panic fading now that there was no sound of Filch and Snape, Harry moved nearer to the mirror, wanting to look at himself but see no reflection again. **

**He stepped in front of it.**

**He had to clap his hands to his mouth to stop himself from screaming. He whirled around. His heart was pounding far more furiously than when the book had screamed — for he had seen not only himself in the mirror, but a whole crowd of people standing right behind him.**

"Uh? My desire is a crowd of people?" Harry said confused but Lily understood, though she didn't say anything.

**But the room was empty. Breathing very fast, he turned slowly back to the mirror.**

**There he was, reflected in it, white and scared-looking, and there, reflected behind him, were at least ten others. Harry looked over his shoulder — but still, no one was there. Or were they all invisible, too? Was he in fact in a room full of invisible people and this mirror's trick was that it reflected them, invisible or not?**

"That would be creepy" Neville commented

**He looked in the mirror again. A woman standing right behind his reflection was smiling at him and waving. **

**He reached out a hand and felt the air behind him. If she was really there, he'd touch her, their reflections were so close together, but he felt only air – she and the others existed only in the mirror.**

**She was a very pretty woman. She had dark red hair and her eyes —her eyes are just like mine, Harry thought, edging a little closer to the glass. **

"Oh" Harry let escape his lips as he bowed his head to the floor. Lily hugged her son, everybody went silent.

**Bright green — exactly the same shape, but then he noticed that she was crying; smiling, but crying at the same time. The tall, thin, black-haired man standing next to her put his arm around her. He wore glasses, and his hair was very untidy. It stuck up at the back, just as Harry's did.**

James put his arms around his family.

**Harry was so close to the mirror now that his nose was nearly touching that of his reflection.**

"**Mom?" he whispered. "Dad?"**

**They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly, Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the mirror, and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though he had Harry's knobbly knees — Harry was looking at his family, for the first time in his life.**

The girls had tears in their eyes and the atmosphere was tense.

**The Potters smiled and waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible sadness.**

**How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.**

"And that's why the mirror is dangerous" Albus said "People get too attracted to it that they sometimes forget about their real lives"

"**You could have woken me up," said Ron, crossly.**

"**You can come tonight, I'm going back, I want to show you the mirror."**

"**I'd like to see your mom and dad," Ron said eagerly.**

"That's not what you're going to see" Bill stated

"I wonder what Ronninks will see" George grinned. Ron made a face.

"**And I want to see all your family, all the Weasleys, you'll be able to show me your other brothers and everyone."**

"Just go to my house in the summer and you'll see everyone" Ron stated

"**You can see them any old time," said Ron. "Just come round my house this summer. Anyway, maybe it only shows dead people. **

Molly, Hermione and Ginny shook their heads.

**Shame about not finding Flamel, though. Have some bacon or something, why aren't you eating anything?"**

"You know what? Ron really is like Padfoot" Remus stated as both men protested 'What's this suppose to mean?'

**Harry couldn't eat. He had seen his parents and would be seeing them again tonight. He had almost forgotten about Flamel. It didn't seem very important anymore. Who cared what the three headed dog was guarding? What did it matter if Snape stole it, really?**

"I'm not going to steal it!" Severus hissed

"**Are you all right?" said Ron. "You look odd."**

**What Harry feared most was that he might not be able to find the mirror room again. With Ron covered in the cloak, too, they had to walk much more slowly the next night. They tried retracing Harry's route from the library, wandering around the dark passageways for nearly an hour.**

"**I'm freezing," said Ron. "Let's forget it and go back."**

"Ron's right. It's for the best" Lily said

"**No!" Harry hissed. "I know it's here somewhere."**

**They passed the ghost of a tall witch gliding in the opposite direction, but saw no one else. just as Ron started moaning that his feet were dead with cold, Harry spotted the suit of armor.**

"**It's here — just here — yes!"**

**They pushed the door open. Harry dropped the cloak from around his shoulders and ran to the mirror.**

Lily sighed, she knew he wanted to see them but Albus was right, the mirror can be bad;

**There they were. His mother and father beamed at the sight of him.**

"**See?" Harry whispered.**

"**I can't see anything."**

"**Look! Look at them all… there are loads of them…"**

"**I can only see you."**

"**Look in it properly, go on, stand where I am."**

**Harry stepped aside, but with Ron in front of the mirror, he couldn't see his family anymore, just Ron in his paisley pajamas.**

**Ron, though, was staring transfixed at his image.**

"Here we go" Freed grinned

"**Look at me!" he said.**

"**Can you see all your family standing around you?"**

"**No — I'm alone — but I'm different — I look older — and I'm head boy!"**

"WHAT?!" Fred and George explained "I can't believe you, Ron!"

"I thought you were…"

"better than that…"

"I can't believe…"

"you want to be Head Boy!"

"I think it's a good dream" Percy and Molly said

"You'd think" The twins said. Ron was trying to disappear into the couch.

"**What?"**

"**I am — I'm wearing the badge like Bill used to — and I'm holding the house cup and the Quidditch cup — I'm Quidditch captain, too."**

"That's better" Fred said

**Ron tore his eyes away from this splendid sight to look excitedly at Harry.**

"**Do you think this mirror shows the future?"**

"**How can it? All my family are dead — let me have another look —"**

"**You had it to yourself all last night, give me a bit more time."**

"**You're only holding the Quidditch cup, what's interesting about that? I want to see my parents."**

"**Don't push me —"**

"Oh, no. You shouldn't fight" Hermione said

**A sudden noise outside in the corridor put an end to their discussion.**

**They hadn't realized how loudly they had been talking.**

"**Quick!"**

**Ron threw the cloak back over them as the luminous eyes of Mrs. Norris came round the door. Ron and Harry stood quite still, both thinking the same thing — did the cloak work on cats? **

"Yes, but she seems to hear well" Remus said

**After what seemed an age, she turned and left.**

"**This isn't safe — she might have gone for Filch, I bet she heard us. ****Come on."**

**And Ron pulled Harry out of the room.**

**The snow still hadn't melted the next morning.**

"**Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron.**

"**No."**

"**Why don't we go down and visit Hagrid?"**

"**No… you go…"**

"**I know what you're thinking about, Harry, that mirror. Don't go back tonight."**

"He's right, Harry" Molly said

"**Why not?"**

"**I dunno, I've just got a bad feeling about it — and anyway, you've had too many close shaves already. Filch, Snape, and Mrs. Norris are wandering around. So what if they can't see you? What if they walk into you? What if you knock something over?"**

"**You sound like Hermione."**

"**I'm serious, Harry, don't go."**

"No, I am" Sirius grinned. People groaned

"Sirius please" Remus voiced what everyone was thinking

**But Harry only had one thought in his head, which was to get back in front of the mirror, and Ron wasn't going to stop him.**

**That third night he found his way more quickly than before. He was walking so fast he knew he was making more noise than was wise, but he didn't meet anyone.**

**And there were his mother and father smiling at him again, and one of his grandfathers nodding happily. Harry sank down to sit on the floor in front of the mirror. There was nothing to stop him from staying here all night with his family. ****Nothing at all.**

**Except —**

"**So — back again, Harry?"**

"Huh? Who's that?"

**Harry felt as though his insides had turned to ice. He looked behind him. Sitting on one of the desks by the wall was none other than Albus Dumbledore. Harry must have walked straight past him, so desperate to get to the mirror he hadn't noticed him.**

"Caught by the Headmaster, that can't be good" Bill commented

"**I — I didn't see you, sir."**

"**Strange how nearsighted being invisible can make you," said Dumbledore, and Harry was relieved to see that he was smiling.**

"**So," said Dumbledore, slipping off the desk to sit on the floor with Harry, "you, like hundreds before you, have discovered the delights of the Mirror of Erised."**

"**I didn't know it was called that, Sir."**

"**But I expect you've realized by now what it does?"**

"**It — well — it shows me my family —"**

"**And it showed your friend Ron himself as head boy."**

"**How did you know —?"**

"I don't need a cloak to become invisible" Albus smiled

"**I don't need a cloak to become invisible," said Dumbledore gently. "Now, can you think what the Mirror of Erised shows us all?"**

**Harry shook his head.**

"**Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. ****Does that help?"**

**Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want… whatever we want…"**

"**Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than the deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts. You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. Ronald Weasley, who has always been overshadowed by his brothers, sees himself standing alone, the best of all of them. **

Ron was staring at the floor as Minerva read that, his brothers exchanged a look, hoping that something would happen in these book that would change this 'issue' Ron has.

**However, this mirror will give us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they have seen, or been driven mad, not knowing if what it shows is real or even possible.**

"**The Mirror will be moved to a new home tomorrow, Harry, and I ask you not to go looking for it again. If you ever do run across it, you will now be prepared. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live, remember that. Now, why don't you put that admirable cloak back on and get off to bed?"**

**Harry stood up.**

"**Sir — Professor Dumbledore? Can I ask you something?"**

"**Obviously, you've just done so," Dumbledore smiled. "You may ask me one more thing, however."**

"**What do you see when you look in the mirror?"**

"Don't you think that's a little personal?" Lily asked

"Hum…"

"**I? I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks."**

**Harry stared.**

"**One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a single pair. People will insist on giving me books."**

People chuckled, it sounded something like what Dumbledore would say, they didn't notice that Albus had a strange expression on his face as he was remembering what it really showed him.

**It was only when he was back in bed that it struck Harry that Dumbledore might not have been quite truthful. But then, he thought, as he shoved Scabbers off his pillow, it had been quite a personal question.**

"It's the end," Minerva said

"Can I read next, professor?" Charlie asked

"Of Course" Minerva handed him the book.


	14. Nicholas Flamel

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

Chapter 14:

Nicholas Flamel

**"Nicholas Flamel,"**Charlie read

**Dumbledore had convinced Harry not to go looking for the Mirror of Erised again, and for the rest of the Christmas holidays the invisibility cloak stayed folded at the bottom of his trunk. **

"That's good" Lily nodded in approval

**Harry wished he could forget what he'd seen in the mirror as easily, but he couldn't. He started having nightmares. Over and over again he dreamed about his parents disappearing in a flash of green light, while a high voice cackled with laughter.**

At this, most of the room shuddered except for Moody, Albus and Severus.

"**You see, Dumbledore was right, that mirror could drive you mad," said Ron, when Harry told him about these dreams.**

"I don't think it's really because of the mirror" Moody muttered suspiciously.

**Hermione, who came back the day before term started, took a different view of things. She was torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row ("If Filch had caught you!"), and disappointment that he hadn't at least found out who Nicolas Flamel was.**

Everybody ( A.N.: When I say 'everybody' or 'everyone' laughed, I mean everybody except Severus and Moody. I don't think they'd laugh at everything, when they laugh I'll say. I'm putting it this way because it will get tiring to put 'everybody except for Severus and Moody laughed' all the time. One more thing each character laughs differently, while the twins are probably rotfl at everything, Minerva on other hand will probably just smile or chuckle. But I won't keep saying the difference all the time, if I do so it will take ages to write all the chapter since they laugh a lot, I will only put more details when it's something major. Excuse for my babbling. I know that most of you probably have already figured this out on your own but I don't want people thinking things along the lines of 'OMG, is she nuts? Severus and Moody wouldn't laugh at this'. Anyway enough of that. Back to the story) laughed at that. Hermione blushed.

**They had almost given up hope of ever finding Flamel in a library book, even though Harry was still sure he'd read the name somewhere. Once term had started, they were back to skimming through books for ten minutes during their breaks. Harry had even less time than the other two, because Quidditch practice had started again.**

"I know what you mean, it's really stressing." Tonks said

"You played in the house team, my dearest cousin?" Sirius asked

"Yup. Beater" Tonks grinned

**Wood was working the team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood was becoming a fanatic, but Harry was on Wood's side. **

"Of course, he is" Lily rolled her eyes "He's related to that obsessed git"

"Hey, I take offence to that" James protested "And Harry's right, Quidditch has to been taken seriously"

Sirius opened his mouth to say something but half of the room quickly said

"Shut up, Sirius"

"You guys are no fun" He pouted

**If they won their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the house championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, Harry found that he had fewer nightmares when he was tired out after training.**

Albus looked thoughtful at that, sometimes dreams have more to it, what are those nightmares exactly? He wondered

**Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Wood gave the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.**

"Oliver hates when we do that" George grinned

"Which means you do that a lot?" Frank smiled at the pair

"Yeah, pretty much"

"**Will you stop messing around!" he yelled. "That's exactly the sort of thing that'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"**

"Wait! Woah?! Snape's refereeing the game?!" Sirius exclaimed

"You never do that?!" Minerva eyed Severus suspiciously, when it came to Quidditch she was always careful. She did not want the Gryffindors to suffer because Severus can't accept that they have a better team;

"I know what you're thinking" Severus glared at Minerva "And I wouldn't waste my time refereeing the game just so I can guarantee my team's victory. I have more faith in them than that and also I wouldn't like to win cheating" He said and upon seeing the doubtful look on most of the people in the room, he decided to add "And before you say anything, No, I'm not trying to kill Potter"

"No one said that, you're the one saying it" Moody said suspiciously

"I believe" Albus interrupted the argument before it got off hand "that we should read more before we jump to any conclusions. Remember what the Golden Trio said, we must not judge anyone before the end of the seven books"

The room went quiet with that, the problem with arguing with Albus Dumbledore is that you'll never win so there's really no point in trying.

**George Weasley really did fall off his broom at these words.**

"I'd bet" George muttered

"**Snape's refereeing?" he spluttered through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin."**

**The rest of the team landed next to George to complain, too.**

Severus sighed, on the contrary of what most people shall think he does not enjoy having three fourths of the school hating him. In truth, he did not plan to spend the rest of his life teaching spoiled brats Potions, as he was much happy when he graduated, the prospect of leaving Hogwarts seemed to be the perfect answer to Severus at the time. Nevertheless, he shouldn't be complaining, if he was to face the consequences of his original achievements, he'd be roasting to death next to Bellatrix Lestrange in Azkaban.

"**It's not my fault," said Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."**

"As if it would be this simple" Charlie scoffed, once in his 6th year, Madam Hooch got sick and was unable to referee the match, so they made Snape do it in her place. Let's say that he manage to turn such a pleasant sport into pure hell.

**Which was all very well, thought Harry, but he had another reason for not wanting Snape near him while he was playing Quidditch…**

Severus wanted to yell that he didn't want to kill the boy one more time, but contained himself. As he watched Lily glance at him disappointed, his heart broke into two. He was still in love with her, even after all that years, but she'd never be his.

**The rest of the team hung back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry headed straight back to the Gryffindor common room, where he found Ron and Hermione playing chess.**

"This shall be good" David laughed, Hermione glared at him and Jane shook her head

"Why?" Bill raised an eyebrow

"Unfortunately, Hermione seems to not have inherited my Chess skills. I've tried to teach her countless times, but she never seems to quite get it" David had a smile on his face "And if Ronald is as good as you seem to think he is, then, well, she'll lose badly. And I think you all must have already noticed that Hermione is not a good loser"

People laughed, as Hermione blushed and exclaimed "Daddy!"

"What, Hermione? I'm merely stating the truth" David defended himself, as the rest watched the pair in amusement

"Weren't you the one that said I should stay away from them? And now you're enjoying to see them beating me." Hermione raised an eyebrow

"Well, I still do not think it's wise of you to stay in constant company of two soon-to-be-teenagers-controlled-by-their-hormones boys, but a little bit of loss is good to everyone" David said, as everyone laughed at the look on Hermione's face. 

**Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron thought was very good for her.**

David gave her a look of 'See-even-your-friends-think-so' as Ron and Harry grinned at her. She turned her head and faked a cough 'Traitors' which made everyone laugh.

"**Don't talk to me for a moment," said Ron when Harry sat down next to him, "I need to concen—" He caught sight of Harry's face.**

"**What's the matter with you? You look terrible."**

**Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry told the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.**

"**Don't play," said Hermione at once.**

"**Say you're ill," said Ron.**

"**Pretend to break your leg," Hermione suggested.**

"**Really break your leg," said Ron.**

"That wouldn't really work" Alice stated "Madam Pomfrey could heal you in like five minutes"

"**I can't," said Harry. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."**

**At that moment Neville toppled into the common room. How he had managed to climb through the portrait hole was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor tower.**

"Oh, No" Alice and Augusta exclaimed at the same time, though in different tones. Alice said it in a worried tone while Augusta said in a scolding tone. While Neville groaned.

"It's not his fault, why are you scolding him?" Alice glared at her mother-in-law, which surprised everyone, Alice was always calm, never out of control and to say something like that to Augusta Longbottom of all people was something for someone with a _lot_ of courage.

"He has to learn how to defend himself" Augusta hissed "If we keep 'awing' at everything he does, he'll turn out to be weak"

"I find Neville to be a respectful young man, and not everything comes down to physical fights" Alice shot back. Augusta went red, Neville, Frank and as well all of the room cowered back, waiting for the explosion. It's not out of nothing the fame in Augusta Longbottom's fury. But instead of exploding, Augusta turned back to normal color slowly and stared at her daughter-in-law as if she had just seem a Ghost. Frank, concerned, approached the scene

"Mother, what happened?" He asked, Augusta forced a smile on her face

"A few months after Neville was born, you three came to visit me, and… we… Alice and I, we had an argument much like this one" She said. Alice's face softened immediately "Oh, Augusta" Both women hugged. People around them were shocked, it's not everyday you see Augusta Longbottom acting this way. As they parted, Augusta turned to Charlie

"You may read, young man"

**Everyone fell over laughing except Hermione, who leapt up and performed the counter curse.**

"Thanks" Alice smiled at the girl

"There's nothing to thank me for" Hermione said 

**Neville's legs sprang apart and he got to his feet, trembling. "What happened?" Hermione asked him, leading him over to sit with Harry and Ron.**

"**Malfoy," said Neville shakily. **

"That…" Frank started but stopped, he didn't want to break down in front of the children.

"**I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."**

"Oh, you should just come to me and say it, Mr. Longbottom" Minerva said "I shall make Mr. Malfoy take the consequences.

"**Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urged Neville. "Report him!"**

"Yes, listen to her" Minerva nodded.

**Neville shook his head.**

"**I don't want more trouble," he mumbled.**

At this, she frowned, but decided against saying anything.

"**You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" said Ron. "He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier."**

The majority of the males in the room nodded in agreement and let our yells of

"Yeah, you should stand up to him"

"**There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville choked out.**

"I don't think that's what I meant" Ron scowled at Neville, couldn't he see that he was underestimating himself.

"Sorry, Ron" Neville said

**Harry felt in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, the very last one from the box Hermione had given him for Christmas. He gave it to Neville, who looked as though he might cry.**

"**You're worth twelve of Malfoy," Harry said. "The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin."**

"Yeah, you said it" James cheered along with the Gryffindors, males Gryffindors that is.

**Neville's lips twitched in a weak smile as he unwrapped the frog.**

"**Thanks, Harry… I think I'll go to bed… D'you want the card, you collect them, don't you?"**

**As Neville walked away, Harry looked at the Famous Wizard card.**

"**Dumbledore again," he said, "He was the first one I ever —"**

**He gasped. He stared at the back of the card. Then he looked up at Ron and Hermione.**

Albus smiled "So I see, you remembered" The room looked at him confused

"You'll see soon, I'm sure"

"**I've found him!" he whispered. "I've found Flamel! I told you I'd read the name somewhere before, I read it on the train coming here — listen to this: 'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel'!"**

"So we'll go through all of that hours in the library and in the end it will all be in a Chocolate Frog Card" Ron grimaced, Harry soon following him. People laughed at the look on their faces.

"There's worst things in life" Hermione rolled her eyes "Reading is a very respectful and endearing activity"

Harry and Ron in return, just rolled their eyes. Jane, Molly and Lily smiled at them, they could see how natural they were in this friendship. And each mother was grateful for it. Molly because she had always known that Ron being the youngest of six men affected him quite a lot, adding the fact that he did not have much contact with not family people his age before Hogwarts, she was sure this friendship would do him good. Jane was grateful because for the first time she saw Hermione being herself among kids her and finally make friends with them. While Lily was happy that Harry would see that no matter what the Dursleys would do, they could still be happy with his friends.

**Hermione jumped to her feet. She hadn't looked so excited since they'd gotten back the marks for their very first piece of homework.**

People chuckled

"**Stay there!" she said, and she sprinted up the stairs to the girls' dormitories. Harry and Ron barely had time to exchange mystified looks before she was dashing back, an enormous old book in her arms.**

"**I never thought to look in here!" she whispered excitedly. "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."**

"Light?" Ron repeated incredulous "I thought you said it was an enormous book"

"Not everyone's as lazy as you are, Ronald" Hermione huffed. Ron tried to control his ears from turning red without success. Something about the way she called him by his full name gave him a strange feeling. But still he's just eleven, it's probably nothing. But he had a feeling something would happen…

"**Light?" said Ron, but Hermione told him to be quiet until she'd looked something up, and started flicking frantically through the pages, muttering to herself.**

People laughed again.

**At last she found what she was looking for.**

"**I knew it! I knew it!"**

"**Are we allowed to speak yet?" said Ron grumpily. Hermione ignored him.**

"You two sound like my mum and dad" Tonks said "They fight like an old married couple, which they are, but anyway it's just their way of teasing each other. It's quite amusing. It would be even more if they weren't my parents"

The room snorted agreeing with Tonks, but Ron and Hermione blushed as David returned to his old game of 'Glaring at Ronald Weasley'.

"**Nicolas Flamel," she whispered dramatically, "is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"**

**This didn't have quite the effect she'd expected.**

"**The what?" said Harry and Ron.**

"I pity you, Hermione" Remus shook his head "I know how it is to hang out with two gits that don't know anything"

"Oi!"

"**Oh, honestly, don't you two read? Look – read that, there."**

**She pushed the book toward them, and Harry and Ron read:**

**The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal.**

**There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight).**

"This Elixir of life is pretty cool and all but I don't think I'd like to live this long, it'd get quite depressing to see all the people you care about pass away" Arthur said. The room murmured in agreement, not really enjoying the topic of the conversation.

"**See?" said Hermione, when Harry and Ron had finished. "The dog must be guarding Flamel's Philosopher's Stone! I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone moved out of Gringotts!"**

"Is that really why?" Remus asked

"Mostly," Albus confessed

"**A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" said Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it."**

Severus grunted "For your information, I'm helping with the protection"

"**And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," said Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"**

"That's true" Frank chuckled

**The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry and Ron were still discussing what they'd do with a Philosopher's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that Harry remembered about Snape and the coming match.**

"You could buy the Cannons easily, they must be quite cheap" Bill teased his youngest brother

"Oi!" Ron scowled,

"**I'm going to play," he told Ron and Hermione. "If I don't, all the Slytherins will think I'm just too scared to face Snape. I'll show them… it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces if we win."**

"**Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," said Hermione.**

**As the match drew nearer, however, Harry became more and more nervous, whatever he told Ron and Hermione. The rest of the team wasn't too calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the house championship was wonderful, no one had done it for seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?**

"A though mission" Charlie said

**Harry didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but he seemed to keep running into Snape wherever he went. At times, he even wondered whether Snape was following him, trying to catch him on his own. **

"Why would I be following you around, Potter?!" Severus snapped, Harry glared at him

"I don't know, you're the one doing it!"

"Don't you speak with me like that, boy!"

"You two stop!" Minerva yelled, both of them backed away. "Could please start reading again, Mr. Weasley"

"Ok"

**Potions lessons were turning into a sort of weekly torture, Snape was so horrible to Harry. Could Snape possibly know they'd found out about the Philosopher's Stone?**

Severus frowned, he probably suspected something, especially since he was Potter's son. 

**Harry didn't see how he could — yet he sometimes had the horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.**

Severus let out a smirk at this, that went unnoticed by people in the room, except for Moody.

**Harry knew, when they wished him good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see him alive again.**

"You lot sure are pessimistic" Charlie said

**This wasn't what you'd call comforting. Harry hardly heard a word of Wood's pep talk as he pulled on his Quidditch robes and picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand.**

**Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match.**

"You should always have your wand, boy" Moody scolded "CONSTANT VIGILANCE!"

**Little did Harry know that Ron and Hermione had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. **

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry asked

"We probably did not want to worry you even more" Hermione said, as Ron nodded agreeing.

**They'd gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any sign of wanting to hurt Harry.**

"That's so sweet, you're willing to fight for each other" Alice said, but Molly, Lily and Jane paled at the thought of them having to fight at all.

"**Now, don't forget, it's Locomotor Mortis," Hermione muttered as Ron slipped his wand up his sleeve.**

"**I know," Ron snapped. "Don't nag."**

Lily let out a laugh at this. Everyone stared at her, She shook her head

"It's just that… Tonks said that they remind her of her parents, but now they're reminding me of my grandparents. Whenever I'd visit them, Grandma would ask Grandpa to do something and then she'd tell him in details what to do and he'd get annoying and wave her off like 'I know, I know. Don't nag, woman!'" She laughed, most of the room soon joined her. Hermione and Ron went pink and David grimaced.

**Back in the locker room, Wood had taken Harry aside.**

"**Don't want to pressure you, Potter, but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."**

"Yeah, really, no pressure" Harry rolled his eyes

"**The whole school's out there!" said Fred Weasley, peering out of the door. "Even — blimey — Dumbledore's come to watch!"**

**Harry's heart did a somersault.**

"**Dumbledore?" he said, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred was right. There was no mistaking that silver beard.**

"Great, Snape won't do anything with Dumbledore around" Sirius said happily, Severus didn't even bother saying he didn't want to kill the boy.

**Harry could have laughed out loud with relief, he was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare to try to hurt him if Dumbledore was watching.**

**Perhaps that was why Snape was looking so angry as the teams marched onto the field, something that Ron noticed, too.**

"**I've never seen Snape look so mean," he told Hermione. "Look — they're off. Ouch!"**

**Someone had poked Ron in the back of the head. It was Malfoy.**

"Great" Ron groaned "The git"

"**Oh, sorry, Weasley, didn't see you there."**

**Malfoy grinned broadly at Crabbe and Goyle.**

"**Wonder how long Potter's going to stay on his broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"**

**Ron didn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George Weasley had hit a Bludger at him.**

Everybody laughed

"Good one, Forge" 

**Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, was squinting fixedly at Harry, who was circling the game like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.**

"**You know how I think they choose people for the Gryffindor team?" said Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awarded Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter, who's got no parents, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money — you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."**

"That son of a---" Sirius let out;

**Neville went bright red but turned in his seat to face Malfoy.**

"**I'm worth twelve of you, Malfoy," he stammered.**

_"_You tell him, Neville" Sirius cheered. As well as most of the room cheered for Neville, who blushed.

**Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howled with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."**

"Thanks, guys" Neville said

"**Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."**

"I'm going to kill that git"

**Ron's nerves were already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about Harry.**

"**I'm warning you, Malfoy — one more word—"**

"**Ron!" said Hermione suddenly, "Harry —"**

"**What? Where?"**

**Harry had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which drew gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stood up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as Harry streaked toward the ground like a bullet.**

"**You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.**

"Hit him, Ron" Sirius yelled

**Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. **

"Go! Ron!" The males yelled, while Molly scolded

"Ronald! You shouldn't fight"

**Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.**

"You can do it, Neville" Augusta cheered, as people stared at the old woman shocked.

"**Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape — she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.**

"Wow" People let out, Hermione blushed "I'm probably worried Harry's going to die"

**Up in the air, Snape turned on his broomstick just in time to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches — the next second, Harry had pulled out of the dive, his arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in his hand.**

"YEAH!!" The males cheered again

"WE WON! WE WON" Fred and George sang

"Actually, you haven't yet" Tonks said

"WE'LL WIN, WE'LL WIN" They corrected themselves. When the room calmed down, Charlie started reading again.

**The stands erupted; it had to be a record, no one could ever remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.**

"**Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! Harry's won! We've won! Gryffindor is in the lead!" shrieked Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging Parvati Patil in the row in front.**

"I didn't think you liked Quidditch" David raised an eyebrow

"Sounds like an interesting sport to watch but I don't think I'd be a good player" Hermione said

**Harry jumped off his broom, a foot from the ground. He couldn't believe it. He'd done it — the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors came spilling onto the field, he saw Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped — then Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up into Dumbledore's smiling face.**

"**Well done," said Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry could hear. "Nice to see you haven't been brooding about that mirror… been keeping busy… excellent…"**

"Yes" Lily smiled

**Snape spat bitterly on the ground.**

**Harry left the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He couldn't ever remember feeling happier. He'd really done something to be proud of now – no one could say he was just a famous name any more.**

"It's just a game at Hogwarts, Harry" Remus said sadly "It won't become more famous than your reputation"

**The evening air had never smelled so sweet. He walked over the damp grass, reliving the last hour in his head, which was a happy blur: Gryffindors running to lift him onto their shoulders; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.**

Molly sighed

**Harry had reached the shed. He leaned against the wooden door and looked up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. He'd done it, he'd shown Snape…**

**And speaking of Snape…**

**A hooded figure came swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walked as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry's victory faded from his mind as he watched. He recognized the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner — what was going on?**

Moody stared at Severus.

**Harry jumped back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle he saw Snape enter the forest at a run. ****He followed.**

"Why must look for trouble?" Lily sighed

**The trees were so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he heard voices. He glided toward them and landed noiselessly in a towering beech tree.**

**He climbed carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves.**

**Below, in a shadowy clearing, stood Snape, but he wasn't alone. Quirrell was there, too. Harry couldn't make out the look on his face, but he was stuttering worse than ever. Harry strained to catch what they were saying.**

"… **d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…"**

"**Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," said Snape, his voice icy. **

"**Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all."**

**Harry leaned forward. Quirrell was mumbling something. Snape interrupted him.**

"**Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"**

"**B-b-but Severus, I —"**

"You're getting Quirrell to help you?!" James shook his head

"I don't want the stone and if I wanted I'd not get help from stupid Quirrell" Severus hissed

"**You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," said Snape, taking a step toward him.**

"**I-I don't know what you—"**

"**You know perfectly well what I mean."**

**An owl hooted loudly, and Harry nearly fell out of the tree. He steadied himself in time to hear Snape say, "— your little bit of hocus-pocus. ****I'm waiting."**

"**B-but I d-d-don't —"**

"**Very well," Snape cut in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."**

"Explain that" Sirius asked Severus

"Maybe Quirreall's the one trying to steal the stone and I want to keep it safe" Severus said

"Yeah, right" Sirius scoffed, but Remus said "You know what that's not completely impossible, Padfoot. Quirreall keeps being mentioned all the time, I have a feeling there's more to it"

"Moony!" Sirius exclaimed shocked "In which side are you on?"

"Yours, of course, Pads" Remus laughed "But Snape happens to have a point"

"Humf" Sirius huffed.

**He threw his cloak over his head and strode out of the clearing. It was almost dark now, but Harry could see Quirrell, standing quite still as though he was petrified.**

"**Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaked.**

"**We won! You won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping Harry on the back. "And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right**

"Thank God" Alice let out

**talk about showing Slytherin! Everyone's waiting for you in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens."**

"Is this against the rules?" Jane asked

"Yes, but everybody does that" Remus said

"There's really no way to stop them" Minerva confessed

"**Never mind that now," said Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this…"**

**He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.**

"**So we were right, it is the Philosopher's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus pocus' — I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through —"**

"**So you mean the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" said Hermione in alarm.**

"It will be gone in no time" Ron said

"**It'll be gone by next Tuesday," said Ron.**

"Sounds about right" Ron grinned

"Want to read now, lil Bro?" Charlie asked handing Ron the book.

"Er…ok"


	15. Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

Reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

**Disclaimer: I don't own HP. **

**First of all, I'm sorry it took so long for me to update but life's been busy these last months and I really didn't have time to write that much. But it's finally here! I hope you enjoy it. I'd also like to say that next chapter will be last one where I'll accept your answers to the contest. So review with you answers. Thanks for reading this story and I'm sorry again. **

Chapter 15:

Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

**"No****rbert the Norwegian Ridgeback," **Ron read

"Norwegian Ridgeback?" Charlie raised an eyebrow "That's a dragon… a really dangerous dragon" He added, Molly groaned loudly, while her second oldest son exclaimed "Brilliant"

Molly stared at him "Your younger brother will probably encounter this really dangerous dragon and you find it brilliant?"

"That's right" Charlie turned to glare at Ron "I can't believe you'll be able to see a Norwegian Ridgeback, they're really rare, the camp hasn't seen one in decades! You better tell me about it"

"Charlie!" Molly yelled

"What, mum? It's a one in a lifetime opportunity" He gave Ron a jealous look "You lucky git" He sighed, Ron rolled his eyes at his brother's and mother's argument and started reading.

**Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought.**

"That's lucky" Sirius said

**In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.**

Snape shot a Dumbledore a look. Quirrell was guilty somehow, he was sure of it and he knew that Dumbledore was probably the only one who believed 100 % in him on that matter.

**Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. **

"I don't think that's a good idea" James said, Lily looked at him strangely, was James making sense at last. "It's going to raise suspicion to go there all the time, especially since the corridor is forbidden for the students. You should just sneak out at night" Lily sighed, too much for the good sense.

**Snape was sweeping about in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe. Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.**

"He has reasons to stutter" Sirius muttered

**Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Philosopher's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color coding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.**

"I know" Sirius sighed "Moony does that too, as if we'd study like that! It's boring!"

"But it's important and necessary!" Remus huffed "You shouldn't give your godson that bad of an example"

"Argh, Moony, you're sounding like Lily" Sirius whined

"**Hermione, the exams are ages away."**

"**Ten weeks," Hermione snapped. "That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."**

"Ten weeks? I think you're exaggerating a bit, darling" David chuckled

"No, I'm not. I'll have to be prepared" Hermione said confidentially "Hogwarts exams surely won't be as easy as Math exams from my muggle school"

"Easy?" Harry gaped at her "Ok, Hermione, I'm not _that_ bad at math, but you can possibly say that Math exams are easy"

"Which, in Hermione's world, means skipping dinner and locking herself up in her bedroom to drown herself in books" David chuckled, as did most of the room. Hermione blushed and glared at him.

"**But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it's an all."**

"**What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me…"**

"Whoa! Hermione you need to chill out or else you'll have a heart attack at age twenty" Tonks said

**Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione. They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones. **

**It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.**

Molly and Lily smiled "I like your influence on them" Molly said

"Yes, in a certain way this friendship helped both sides out" Remus said "Harry and Ron helped Hermione relax a little while Hermione is making them study"

"Yes, or else Ron and Harry would spend all of their time doing nothing and Hermione would transfer her dormitory to the library" Bill chuckled, he liked the idea of this friendship something just felt right to him.

"**I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.**

**Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"**

"Hagrid, what are _you _doing in the library?" Fred gasped "I thought you were one of us"

"Er… I don't know" Hagrid looked confused, he didn't have any reasons to go to the library.

**Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.**

"**Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once.**

"Of course" Lily sighed, Molly and Jane agreeing.

"You kids should stop being so curious, it will get you in trouble" Jane said. Ron, Harry and Hermione shared a look, they had a feeling that is exactly what's going to happen. 

"**An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"**

"**Oh, we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's a Philosopher's St—"**

"You shouldn't say that out loud" Bill said "It'll get Hagrid in trouble"

"**Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"**

"**There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy —"**

"**SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen — come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh —"**

"**See you later, then," said Harry.**

**Hagrid shuffled off.**

"**What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.**

"**Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"**

"I don't think so" Remus said looking curiously at Hagrid, who looked as confused as everyone.

"**I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down on the table.**

"**Dragons!" he whispered. **

"So the Dragon's yours?" Molly exclaimed "In a school full of children! Hagrid, what are you thinking?"

"I don't know" Hagrid said, looking scared of the angry Red-head.

"**Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide. "**

"I love that book" Charlie exclaimed, Fred and George gasped

"You too, Charlie?" Fred put his hands on his heart in fake hurt

"I can't believe you betrayed us like that" George dried his fake tears.

"Shut up, you gits" Charlie rolled his eyes at his younger brothers.

"**Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him, " said Harry.**

"**But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that. **

"Actually not everyone knows it" Charlie said "They just know it is illegal"

"Ohh, is inkle Ronninks turning into nerdinks?" Fred laughed

"Shut up"

**It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden — anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."**

Molly winced at the reminder, but her son seemed to be proud of it as he was showing it off to the men in the room.

"**But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.**

"**Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."**

"You sure know a lot about the subject, Ron?" George raised an eyebrow "Thinking about following our dearest brother's footsteps?"

"He will most definitely not" Molly said "One son away in Romania is enough"

"Mum" Charlie rolled his eyes "You won't be able to stop him if that's what he really wants, you know that, right?"

Molly sighed "That won't stop me from trying"

"Relax, guys, I won't become a Dragon's Keeper" Ron rolled his eyes "I think it is kind of cool, but wouldn't want to work with them" He added before reading again.

"**So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.**

**When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.**

**It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. **

"Trying to warm the egg, I see" Charlie said "It's a really good thing to do, it fastens the hatching"

"That's a good thing?" Percy looked at him incredulous "Only in your world"

**Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.**

"**So — yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"**

"**Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Philosopher's Stone apart from Fluffy."**

**Hagrid frowned at him.**

"**O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts — I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."**

"Sneaking around, that's how they know" Lily said

"**Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice. **

**Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."**

Hagrid blushed knowing he would most likely be fooled with that, as the twins, Tonks and the Marauders laughed.

"I knew it" Sirius exclaimed "You'll do a really good Moony, Hermione" He laughed, Hermione blushed. Remus rolled his eyes

"Someone has to actually think before acting so that you three won't spend your seven years at Hogwarts in detention" He said "A hard job, but someone has to do it, right, Hermione?" He winked at the girl who nodded, her cheeks pink at the compliment.

"I can't believe that you, Remus Lupin, is actually approving of them getting into trouble" Minerva glared her former student. James and Sirius laughed

"Like we told you before, Minnie, Remus is and will always be a Marauder" James laughed

**Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words. Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.**

"**Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that… let's see… he borrowed Fluffy from me… then some o' the teachers did enchantments… Professor Sprout — Professor Flitwick — Professor McGonagall —" he ticked them off on his fingers, "Professor Quirrell — an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."**

"See, how can I possibly want the stone if I'm helping protect it?" Severus said, he did not like most of the people in the room, but he didn't like that he was the bad guy… actually, that doesn't matter either, what matters is that he doesn't want Lily to think he's bad.

"That's not an excuse, Snape" Sirius said "It just makes everything easier since you'll already know how to get through one of the enchantments"

"**Snape?"**

"**Yeah — yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."**

**Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same as he was. If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it. He probably knew everything — except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.**

"**You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy. aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"**

"**Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.**

"Well, that's something" James said

"**Well, that's something," Harry muttered **

James grinned at Harry, as Lily suppressed a sigh.

**to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."**

"**Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glance at the fire. Harry looked at it, too.**

"**Hagrid — what's that?"**

**But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.**

"Hagrid, I can't believe, you actually did that, I was hoping you'd have more sense than that" Minerva exclaimed.

"But it has always been me dream, since I was a little kid" Hagrid protested, not looking sorry at all, but excited.

"**Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard, "That's — er…"**

"**Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg. "It must've cost you a fortune."**

"**Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."**

"Do you hear yourself talking, Hagrid?" Lily exclaimed "You accepted a Dragon egg, something illegal, from an stranger in a pub where people go to get drunk"

Hagrid blushed and mumbled something under his breath that sounded something like 'I really should quit drinking'

"**But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.**

"**Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library —Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit — it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on I em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here — how ter recognize diff'rent eggs — what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."**

Charlie sighed "Really rare"

Molly glared at him, "Could stop acting as if those animals were human and remember that he lives in a wooden house, it will burn it down"

"Well, I must admit that it is not the best choice for a place where a dragon will live" Charlie said

**He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.**

"**Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said.**

"At least, she has sense" Molly said, giving Harry and Ron a look, the boys istantly opened their mouths to protest

"But we didn't say anything!"

"Yeah, and we don't think it's a good idea either" Ron added.

"Still, you boys don't seem to have much sense" Molly said, Arthur rolled his eyes and said

"Ron, I think you should keep reading."

**But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stoked the fire.**

**So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.**

"**Wonder what it's like to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, **

"For some reason I think we'll be hearing that a lot in the future" Percy said "I mean for what other reason would there be a book about their lives"

"You're probably right" Lily sighed, she wanted her kid to have a normal life but it didn't look as if it was bound to happen.

**as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting. Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them nuts.**

"You should study if you want to pass and schedules will make it much easier" Hermione said, Harry and Ron made a face, they were so not looking forward to that.

**Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: It's hatching.**

"Oh, god" Jane let out, but still had an intrigued look on her face, she'd never think that dragons really existed.

**Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.**

Molly smiled approvingly.

"**Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"**

"Plenty of times if you have my job" Charlie grinned

"You know what, Charlie?" Fred said "You like dragons so much…"

"…that we're beginning to think that you'll marry one someday" George continued laughing

"Hahaha, really funny" Charlie rolled his eyes.

"**We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing—"**

"**Shut up!" Harry whispered.**

**Malfoy was only a few feet away **

"Great, the git" Tonks groaned "I can't believe I'm related to him. Argh!"

"Tell me about it" Sirius said, "Not only I'm related to him, but also I spent most of my years at Hogwarts saying the same things about my oh-so-lovely relatives, with the exception of Andy, of course"

**and he had stopped dead to listen. How much had he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.**

**Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, **

"Now, tell me why do I have the feeling I'll be hearing a lot of arguments between you two in the future?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione, not really minding the idea. It's probably going to be annoying but he'll have friends!

Ron and Hermione gave him a sheepish look, they had this feeling too.

**Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break. When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the three of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.**

"**It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.**

"Oh, god, you're actually enjoying this, aren't you?" Minerva asked Hagrid who was grinning from ear-to-ear.

**The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.**

**They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.**

**All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it looked like a crumpled, black umbrella. Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.**

"Amazing" David said

"Indeed" Charlie said "Every time you think of how amazing it is"

**It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.**

"**Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.**

"**Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.**

Both Charlie and Hagrid had this dreamy look on their faces. Hagrid had tears in his eyes.

"I can't wait to meet him" He exclaimed.

"You two are acting like girls, I can't believe it" Fred exclaimed

"**Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"**

**Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face — he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.**

"**What's the matter?"**

"**Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains — it's a kid — he's runnin' back up ter the school."**

**Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.**

**Malfoy had seen the dragon.**

"Why there's always a git to make everything more complicated?" Sirius exclaimed

**Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous. **

**They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.**

"**Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."**

"No" Charlie and Hagrid said "He's too little. He'd die"

"**I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."**

"Good thing, you read that books, Hagrid" Charlie said

"I don't think it has anything to do with the book, but with he wanting the dragon" Tonks said

**They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.**

"**I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, **

"Humm… are you sure about that, Hagrid?" Charlie asked

"Why? I like Norbert" Hagrid said confused

"It's not about the name, it's just that I have a feeling it's a female" Charlie explained

"How can you know?" Tonks asked

"Females are more vicious, while males are more laid-back. They'll only want to toast you if you mess with them… well, at least at first" Charlie said

**looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. ****Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"**

"Oh, good, you lost your marbles" Sirius said "You're a man, Hagrid"

"**He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.**

"**Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."**

**Hagrid bit his lip.**

"**I — I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."**

**Harry suddenly turned to Ron. "Charlie." he said.**

"Great! You're losing it, too" Sirius said

"**You're losing it, too," said Ron. "I'm Ron, remember?"**

People laughed, "You too really are alike"

"**No — Charlie — your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"**

"Yes, do it" Charlie said excited "I'll be the most popular guy in the camp!"

"**Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"**

**And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.**

**The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. Ron appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.**

"**It bit me!" he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. **

"Oh, no! You should to the hospital wing right away, Ron" Charlie exclaimed, surprising everyone, they were expecting that from Molly. But since Charlie, the Dragon specialist said that, it really must be serious "the Norwegian Ridgeback is highly poisonous"

"**I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a week. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."**

**There was a tap on the dark window.**

"**It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"**

**The three of them put their heads together to read the note.**

_**Dear Ron,**_

_**How are you? Thanks for the letter — I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.**_

_**Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.**_

_**Send me an answer as soon as possible.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Charlie**_

"You're asking them to break the rules, what kind of role model you are?" Molly exclaimed

"C'mon, mum, everyone breaks rules" Charlie whinned.

**They looked at one another.**

"**We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult – I think the cloaks big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."**

**It was a mark of how bad the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. ****Anything to get rid of Norbert — and Malfoy.**

**There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usual size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey — would she recognize a dragon bite? **

"Probably, but she doesn't ask questions" James said

"Luckily, Madam Pomfrey probably knows about everything the rule-breakers are up to, if she was to say something half of the castle would be in detention. The good would be that they would be able to fire Flitch since there'd too many people to clean the school." Sirius added laughing

"That's good to know" Minerva and Severus chorused, they were going to have a long talk with Madam Pomfrey.

**By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. ****It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.**

"If you had gone right away, it wouldn't have happened" Charlie said

"Well, you could have warned us like you know: _'P.S.: Don't let the Dragon bit you, it's highly poisonous, but if it happens hurry up to the Hospital Wing'_" Ron said

**Harry and Hermione rushed up to the hospital wing at the end of the day to find Ron in a terrible state in bed.**

"**It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me — I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me**

"Of course not" The Marauders said

— **I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."**

**Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.**

"**It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.**

"**Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no oh no — I've just remembered — Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."**

"Oh lord, can thing get worst?" Jane exclaimed

**Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.**

"**It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak, Malfoy doesn't know about that."**

**They found Fang, the boarhound, sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.**

"**I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage — nothin' I can't handle."**

"You really should be careful, Hagrid" Minerva said "It is dangerous"

**When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been because Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.**

"**Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot — jus' playin' — he's only a baby, after all."**

**The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle. **

"That's why we try to get them as far from the houses as possible" Charlie said

**Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.**

**They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall. Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.**

"**He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."**

"The poor bear's gonna lose his head" Sirius chuckled.

**From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.**

"**Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"**

"If you want I can do something so you can visit her" Charlie said, Hagrid smiled like a child that just got his lost puppy back, "Really?"

"Sure" Charlie grinned.

**How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another – even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.**

"**Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.**

**Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate. Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared. Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.**

The Marauders started laughing, seeing as everyone was looking confused Remus explained "She hates being woken up in the middle of the night by pranksters"

"Yeah, that's why she gives the worst detentions to those who dare wake her up" James grinned

"And we talk from experience" Sirius added, as they continued to laugh.

"I don't see what's so funny in that" Minerva huffed

"That's right, we're laughing now but at the time, it sucked" James said

"**Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty points from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you —"**

"**You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming — he's got a dragon!"**

"**What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on — I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"**

"That's the real reason why I tell the Slytherins to never sneak out at night. They wake her up and I have to hear her speech for hours" Severus sighed.

**The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that. Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breathe properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.**

"**Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"**

"I don't think that's a good idea, sweetheart" Jane smiled, Hermione huffed at her

"Why?" Ron and Harry asked, intrigued

"Let's just say Hermione's not the best singer in the world" David laughed, Hermione rolled her eyes

"Hahah, really funny, dad! Ron, keep reading"

"**Don't," Harry advised her.**

**Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited, Norbert thrashing about in his crate. About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.**

**Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. **

"Probably Afon and Broderick" Charlie said "They're always super excited about everything, especially when it comes to Dragons and they like to travel around the world looking for more dragons"

**They showed Harry and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.**

**At last, Norbert was going… going… gone.**

"That's a relief" Minerva said

**They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon — Malfoy in detention — what could spoil their happiness?**

"Oh, no! You should never say that" Sirius said

"Why not?" Neville asked

"Every time, we'd say something like that after a perfect prank, something would go wrong" James explained

**The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.**

"**Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."**

"See" Sirius said

**They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.**

"First years mistake" Sirius shook his head "You'll learn with time"

"I shall hope not" Molly glared at him

"Can I read next?" Harry asked

"Here" Ron simply handed him the book.


End file.
